Path To Redemption
by asianpearl
Summary: How long does it take to heal a broken heart? How long more until forgiveness is found? A Jellal X Erza fic.
1. Prologue

All characters and references, intentional or not, do not belong to the author of this fic.

_Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies._

_Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption_

_**PROLOUGE**_

The room was sinfully warm. Due to the new standards of security and privacy, the room had been sealed off, as per usual council business. There were no vents in the room either, making the stale air mix in with the odor of the perspiration ; turning the room into a suffocating torture hall. Not that the new security measures were uncalled for, the council's wounds were still fresh from its previous act of internal treason. The new headquarters had not been rebuilt , and for now, a temporary courtroom had been magically modified to house council meetings.

The room was a wide, rectangular hall about thrice the size of a tennis court. It had obviously seen better days. The wooden furniture and flooring creaked upon movement, due to years of resilient attack by termites, the tapestries and rugs which hung majestically on the walls now faded and dusty. A long table lined one side of the room, where ten old men sat, -gaudily dressed despite the weather- with expressions of obvious contempt on their faces. Across from them, a single woman stood, her back ramrod straight, her jaw set in a determined line; for she knew, no matter what these old men threw at her, she was going to win this round.

'This is preposterous! Utterly insane!' one of the old man bellowed, his frustration showing itself turning his skinny, gaunt face ruddy .

'You are asking us to free a madman, one of the most dangerous people the council has faced since Zeref himself, because YOU THINK HE IS INNOCENT?,'

'I have no doubt about it,' she answered calmly, 'You have heard my reasons, you understand what will unfold, so I ask you only to do what is necessary,'

Immediately, the they chose to yell and disagree and argue all at once. Out of the din, words like 'traitor', 'accomplice', 'evil' , 'murder' reached the woman's ears. She stayed silent, she had to play her cards right. It was only a matter of time now. Somewhere at the back of her mind, the irony of the situation made her laugh mentally.

_He probably was in situations like this himself_ .

'Six months,' said a voice. It was no louder than the rest of them, but everyone fell silent instantly, eyes riveted on the short, chubby man.

Councilman Shinra twisted the rings on his fingers, fidgeting for all his worth. Obviously not liking a word of what he was saying, his eyes finally looked up through his unkempt blonde bangs straight at the woman.

'You have six months Miss Scarlet. Bring us proof . Or else, the two of you will pay the ultimate price,'

The television screen was grainy and black and white, the image distorting itself once every few minutes, and the volume would suddenly control itself, as it by will of a poltergeist ; but that was to be expected in prison. However, the small group of inmates at the Magnolia Maximum Security Facility recreation room which sat clustered around the singular entertainment portal to the outside world enjoyed every minute of it. The reason being it was 4pm on Friday, and that meant that Weekly Sorcerer's countdown of magic's hottest babes was playing.

'_And now, the moment that you've been all waiting for, here's our number one hottest magical babe of the year…. Miss Erza 'Titania' Scarlet!,'_

The screen fizzled for a moment, and then various pictures of Erza in various outfits came onscreen. As a picture of her posing suggestively in bikini filled the screen, the group of inmates let out several loud whoops and wolf whistles. Suddenly, one of them dragged his head away from the television and looked around the room as if something was amiss. Finally finding his target slouched by the window, staring out at the rain, he let out an evil grin.

'Hey Blue! Why don't you come over here and check out your girlfriend. She's on the telly you know,'

Receiving no reply from the solitary figure, another of his inmate 'buddies' broke free from the circle and joined the taunting game.

'Yeah man, aren't you like gonna clobber us for fantasizin' about your woman? I've heard you talking in your sleep ya know, when you think no one's hearin'. You keep moanin' her name over and over, frankly, I'm getting sick of it,'

This time, Jellal did look at them. He gave them a steely look with his dark green eyes which shut them up instantly. Nonsense like this was common in prison. However, it wasn't as though he had to deal with it. He had learned a long time ago that as with many social groups, authority in prison favored the strongest, fittest alpha male. No one dared question you if they knew you were the biggest and the baddest. Plus, he already had a reputation for single handedly infiltrating the council and causing its current state of disarray. Might as well live up to that.

'Trust me, whatever you think you can fantasize, its ten times better in real life,'

That caught their attention all right. The group shifted immediately from the television to a circle around Jellal, eager for gossip.

'Is she really that hot?,'

'How's she like in bed?,'

'You've slept with her?,'

'I bet you're in love with her aren't you?,'

There was a sudden clanging of metal on metal, Jimmy, the tall, lanky prison guard tapped his baton a few times on the metal doorframe of the rec room.

'Lets all calm down now people, break time is almost over,'

'Aww.. come on Jimmy, cant we have a few more minutes?' the man who spoke was Ric, the one who picked the almost fight with Jellal earlier. 'I bet you wanna hear Blue's stories too,'

'Yeah man, last I heard, you had pictures of Titania plastered all over your bedroom wall,' said Tom.

This seemed to fluster the guard. He was in fact, a closet fan of the Fairy Tail mage. Scooping up what was left of his dignity, he barked.

'Get your arses back to your cells now you filty maggots! I don't wanna hear anymore of this Erza Scarlet nonsense!,'

'It isn't nonsense,' replied Jellal smoothly. The guard did get on his nerves.

'You! Stop spreading these lies at once! Bullshit I tell you! As if a lowly prisoner like yourself could ever compare with her greatness, the Titania Erza Scarlet! Why, I would suck Ric's balls if Erza ever made a single hint that she even knew you! Celebrities like them have no business with prison people like us,'

From further up the corridor, a banging and slamming of doors could be heard, followed by hurried footsteps and the sounds of magical seals being forcefully broken. Moments later, at the prison door to the rec room, stood Erza Scarlet in all her red-headed glory.

Jimmy's mouth went slack and the prisoners in the rec room seemed to be paralysed in shock. From behind the Fairy Tail mage, a timid voice could be heard.

'Please ma'am.. This isn't appropriate. If I could just get you to wait in the visitation rooms,'

'You received notification from the council, yes?,' said Erza, with full authority.

'Yes.. but-but..' replied the man, obviously overpowered by her presence.

She paid no more heed to the prison guard and turned her eyes to Jellal. Though he swore the faltered for a split second upon meeting his, she immediately regained the command and power as if she was born in charge.

'Come with me now. We have to talk,'

And with that, she walked right back out the door, down the corridor towards the visitation rooms.

Jellal immediately made to follow. As he passed Jimmy, still in shock from the sudden visitor, he turned around to his fellow inmates.

'Be sure to get pictures,'

**Really sorry for the super short chapter! The next one will be longer.. promise!**

**This will be an attempt at a multichapter fic. **** I've got the first few chapters rolling around in my head and hopefully, I'll post the next chapter up before this weekend is over.**

**On another note, the third chapter of 'Just for Tonight' is on its way. Admittedly, I am struggling to make the lemon just right. I cant help it. Haha. I guess I'm just fussy by nature.**

**Cheers!**

**asianpearl**


	2. Attack

**CHAPTER 1 : ESCAPE**

**We do not remember days; we remember moments. ~Cesare Pavese, _The Burning Brand_**

**Vinny: Well, as far as me goes, I just like to blow things up**.

Erza marched down the narrow prison hallway, her red hair flying out majestically behind her. The heels of her shoes clicked on the plain cement floor as the waning light of day filtered through the steel barred windows on her right, casting the whole walkway into a murky orange hue. As she marched along, she passed by several visitation and conjugal rooms on her left, finally, finding one that was unoccupied, she thew open the door and let herself in. Needless to say, her behavior had been erratic of late. However, the entire predicament she was in left her nervous.

She let herself slump down on the faded orange couch that sat alongside one of the four walls of the room. It, along with four chairs and a small circular table, was all that the meager room held. She should've expected that the council impose these restrictions on her. Of course they wouldn't trust her completely, not after what happened the last time. She had six months, and when she thought about it and how long the process would need, she wasn't sure if she had enough time.

However, as she watched Jellal walk into the room and shut the door behind him silently, a feeling of warmth spread through her chest, the usual butterflies began their tango in her stomach. And when he looked up to smile at her, it was all the comfort she needed, she stood up and enveloped him in an embrace.

Jellal let his arms wrap slowly around her. Resting his head against hers, he breathed in her scent and allowed himself to be relieved that she was alright , and that no stalker nor sorcerer had taken her away from him just yet. It had been too long since he last heard from her. Granted, his memories were not fully back yet, but though her could not explain it, the warmth he felt and the need to protect her grew stronger with each of their encounters. It needed no explanation or basis in fact, none at all.

She pulled away from him slightly and stared into his emerald eyes, seemingly looking for something in those depths.

'Do you remember yet?,' she asked softly.

'Please Erza, lets talk about something else… There's still time-,'

'No,' she said, cutting him off, 'There's no time. Listen, you're being moved, your life is in danger, we have to go now, we-,'

'Wait, what? Moved where? Why? Nothing can touch me here. What's happening?,'

Suddenly, the door creaked open behind them and a curly haired man poked his head inside the room. He was of medium stature with charming blue eyes and boyish features. Wearing a excited grin, the man, clad in a smart three piece suit, shimmied into the already cramped room.

'Transport's all set. Lets boogie baby!,'

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Erza mumbled,

'Jellal, this is Special Agent Lance Sweets, he works for the council and will be assisting us from now on. Sweets, meet Jellal,'

'Pleasure,' replied Sweets.

Seeing the look of bewilderment on Jellal's face, Erza turned to Sweets,

'Give as a couple more minutes? We're not quite done yet,'

Sweets gave a all too knowing look as his glance passed between Erza and Jellal. The former then said he would wait in the car and told the two to hurry up. Jellal inwardly cringed.

_What was this guy, some kind of shrink?_

'Jellal, you remember don't you, that two years ago, you worked with Ultear finishing the tower,'

A black haired woman in a skimpy white kimono flashed through his mind.

'That's what they tell me,'

'Is there anything else you remember?,' asked Erza, almost pleadingly.

'Was there any other project you worked on.. on the side? Did she ever mention something else, something that uses dark magic?,'

As hard as Jellal tried, he could not remember. It was frustrating. Like trying to control an invinsible limb, like standing on your tip toes and hoping to magically lift off the ground in flight, like trying to remember your train of thought after you've lost it. No matter how hard he tried, the memories would not come. It was almost as if, before being awakened by Wendy, Jellal Fernandes had never existed.

But he had, and here before him was living proof. Here was a woman whose name brought back tidal waves of emotions he could never explain , the phantom sensation of laughter, joy, sorrow, lust and fear that came and went without memory. Here was a woman he would set the world aflame for. Here was the only one whose presence shook him to his very core and that, above anything, scared him.

'No. I cant remember. I'm sorry,' he said, looking away.

He felt a warm hand on his cheek that turned his face to look back at her. She was smiling. She was forgiving. She was understanding.

'Its okay. We have time,'

Suddenly, a blast echoed from somewhere south of where they stood. It sounded like a bomb. Erza pulled away from Jellal, hurrying to the door with a look of panic on her face. A split second later, another blast shook the entire building. The lights flickered, a mist of rubble fell from the ceiling and Jellal grabbed Erza and pinned them both to the ground as three more blasts could be heard. Each one nearing in proximity.

'Its happening, the attack has begun,' said Erza, panic lacing her voice.

'We need to move now, NOW!' she yelled as Jellal got off her and they both made their way out of the room.

The afternoon was filled with screams and sirens. Someone on the PA system had called a red alert. Outside, armed guards were pouring into the courtyards, fighting an –as of yet- invinsible enemy. As Erza and Jellal ran back into the recreation room, the sight of gore that met Erza's eyes made her almost gag.

Jimmy, or what used to be Jimmy, lay motionless and dead nearest to the door. His face twisted in a mask of agony and body covered in his own entrails. It looked as if someone had lodged a bomb inside his stomach and it had exploded outwards. The remains of the other inmates were mauled in similar fashion, some of them crushed by beams and pillars that had collapsed during the series of explosions.

'Blue… help… me,' came a hoarse call from within the debris.

Upon closer inspection, it was Ric. His body half buried under slabs of concrete and wood, blood seeping out from numerous wounds. Even Jellal knew that the man didn't have long. Erza pulled on his arm, signaling that they should move forward. Jellal looked back at Ric, wanting in some way to help the man, wanting to at least do _something_ to ease what was about to happen.

Suddenly, another blast echoed through the room and the roof caved in, slamming down on Ric, burying him alive and threatening to finish off Jellal and Erza. Jellal's breath caught in his throat as a sick, dark emotion settled in him

_He could have saved him._

Erza, with a strength that Jellal didn't know she possessed, dragged him out of the rec room and into the adjoining courtyard. Now in open air, Erza drew her sword and called out.

'Face me now coward! Show yourself! I Titania of Fairy Tail command you to end this senseless destruction and face me like a true warrior,'

The anti-magical wards had fallen and as sparks flew between Jellal's fingertips as he flexed them, he was pleased to realize that he could use magic again.

'Destruction and death are a part of life my dear,' came a disembodied voice. 'One cannot live while the other survives,'

There was a swirl of smoke and from its depths, out stepped an oddly dressed man. About 40 years old, he stood around 6 feet in height, wearing a black turtleneck shirt and army pants. A metal breastplate covered his chest , long black ponytail hair and opulent moustache completed the ensemble. He stood ramrod straight, and spoke in a clipped deep baritone. Very army-like.

'How rude of me, please let me introduce myself. I am Colonel Vincenzo Santorini of Grimoire Hearts, known as the Black Bomb Mage,'

'And I couldn't care less,' announced Sweets, who emerged from the rubble, swinging a fiery red sword by his side. All humor gone, he looked ready to kill.

The Colonel raised his left hand and snapped his fingers, immediately, there was a small explosion and Sweets let out a yell of anguish. His sword swinging hand had exploded and from his wrist, now lay a bloody stump. The fiery sword clattered to the ground as its owner fell to his knees, cradling his arm to his chest.

'Little kids should learn to respect their elders, and not to play with sharp toys,'

Jellal advanced, furious. As with the storm of his emotions, the winds began to swirl around him, obeying their elemental master. This horrible man had taken away the smile of an innocent. This man had taken the lives of his prison comrades, this man, he would not allow to live.

The winds picked up and solidified at his side taking the shape of a wolf. Erza's eyes widened as the large furry gray creature nuzzled Jellal's side and then bared its teeth at the Colonel, growling. The wolf stood to Jellal's shoulder, and its body, although solid, seemed to be made of the wind itself. She had no idea Jellal possessed this kind of magic.

'Now, now. We need not fight,' said the Colonel 'I am here only to warn you to children, and to pass on a message,'

'Then speak,' said Erza, drawing her sword up, ready to strike if anything was amiss.

The Colonel's face drew into a frown as he began to recite :

'Erza Scarlet and Jellal Fernandes, proceed no further, and give up your foolish quest. The darkness is greater than you will ever know and if you proceed, more and more people will die. Their blood shall stain your hands as you know, it is because of you, they will perish,'

The Colonel finished dramatically and raised both hands to his sides, palms forward, as if to show them he meant no more harm. The courtyard was silent save for Sweet's agonizing moans and the swirling of Jellal's wind magic. The words sunk in heavily to Erza and fear rose in her throat, as thick, as bitter as bile.

_Impossible….They know._

'I will take my leave now children,' announced the Colonel

'And I am truly sorry, young man,' he said, giving one last parting look at Sweets crumpled form before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

**Reviews please! **

**Cookies to those people who can guess where I borrowed Lance Sweets and Vincenzo Santorini from.**

**And no worries, I wont kill Sweets, he's too adorable.**

**Cheers!**

**Asianpearl **


	3. Sweets

Disclaimer : I own nothing

**CHAPTER 3 : SWEETS**

'What do you mean they were attacked?' yelled Natsu, finally paying attention.

The red haired mage had been fooling around with Happy, dancing around on tables to some music when he had overheard Master Markarov's words, which -considering the fact that the master had whispered them to Gray and Lucy on the complete other end of the dining hall- was no easy feat.

Other than the obvious absence of Erza Scarlet, it had been a relatively normal day in Fairy Tail. Fights broke out every half hour or so, Cana set about her usual pace at emptying the guild's alcohol reserves, Gajeel and Levy had apparently wandered off to some part of the library and Macao was holding the 'Annual Fairy Tail Arm-Wrestling Championships'. The fact that Natsu had picked up on that particular thread of conversation through all that din was testament to his ever growing –and sometimes odd- abilities.

'Erza should've never left without us! Come on gramps.. we're the dream team! You don't split up the dream team!' whined Natsu

He stormed over to where Master Markarov, Gray, and Lucy were seated, at the leftmost corner of the dining hall, Happy trailing behind him.

'I say we go get her now!,' announced Natsu loudly 'Come on gramps, tell me where she went!,'

'You know, for once, I agree,' said Lucy 'I don't like all this talk about secret missions from the council,'

'And since when does the council hire Fairy Tail wizards to do their dirty work for them?,' added Gray, who not surprisingly, was down to his shorts , again.

Master Markarov heaved a sigh and took a seat next to Lucy, leaving the two boys standing. Even to him, Erza's request seemed strange. Never before had the girl had been so adamant to go on a mission alone. Sure, she would be with a Council agent and _him _but still… He remembered the look in her eyes when she explained the details to him, so fierce, so determined.

But now that word of the recent attack on the prison had reached Markarov's ears, he wasn't so sure that Erza's plan had been thought through. Sure she was a powerful wizard, but having _that man_ involved would leave Erza emotionally vulnerable. As any parent would want to protect their children, Markarov wanted to immediately bring Erza back to the safety of the guild. But however, he also realized that denying her the chance to accomplish this would mean denying her the closure she so deserved.

_That child has to face her ghosts_, thought Markarov.

'I think it's time you knew the whole story,' announced the old Master.

….

It was nightfall. Erza, Jellal, and Sweets had left the ruined prison site and had set up camp for the night. The prison had been smack in the middle of a dense tropical forest, populated, of course, with all kinds of dangerous magical beasts, poisonous insects, reptiles and plants. They decided that it would be better to head into the woods and loose any remaining Grimoire Hearts agents that could still be tracking them. Furthermore, it would only take one day on foot to reach their next destination.

In a forest clearing surrounded by heavy, ancient oaks, a large purple tent was set up. A fire sat crackling a few feet away from the tent's opening and the three people who sat on the grass around the merry flames wore similar expressions of exhaustion, anger and remorse. None had much to say or talk about, not after the catastrophe of the evening.

'How's the hand?,' asked Erza, nodding at Sweets' recovered hand, which, by magic, had re-grown itself shortly after the fight.

'I never knew someone could re-grow limbs by magic. I mean, I understand Polyrusica did all those years ago, but it took her weeks to do it, not minutes,'

'Well, I was one of 'those' kids,' he looked around at Jellal and Erza, expecting a lightbulb moment, or some sort of recognition. But all he got were blank stares.

'Oh, come on. You've never heard of it? Those freaky government experiments? Project 3173?,'

'Have you?,' said Erza to Jellal, who shrugged and shook his head in response.

Sweets' shoulders drooped in disappointment before perking up again. Now in story telling mode, the light had come back to his eyes and an excited expression danced on his face.

'When I was a kid, 6 or 7 years old.. I was, well, experimented on,'

'There must've been like 50 of us kids. All orphans ya know? Back then, the craze with those science geeks was trying to infuse human bodies with artificial powers. Something like lacrima infusion, but on a larger scale,'

'Anyway.. long story short, they exposed me to Etherion. Small doses over a long term period. They hoped my body would somehow absorb it and I'd be like a living weapon or something like that,'

He turned to Jellal and in a low voice he said,

'I think, they were just trying to re-create _her _,'

'Her?' asked Jellal and Erza at the same time.

'Yeah, Reesha Valentine,' said Sweets.

This time, Erza was positive Sweets was searching Jellal's face for any hint of recognition. The feeling had been there before. As if Sweets was trying to manipulate the situation, wedge himself between Erza and Jellal. But if Jellal did remember anything, it didn't show on his unchanging expression. Maybe he didn't trust Sweets yet.

'Who's Reesha Valentine?,' asked Jellal

Or maybe, he was just a good actor as he always was.

'Never mind, It's a bit of Symphonian history, you should definitely read up on it if you have the chance,' said Sweets, smiling again.

'Which we will definitely do, once I understand what's going on here,' said Jellal, looking from Erza to Sweets pointedly.

'Well,' said Sweets 'We know your memory hasn't fully recovered yet. And recent, ah.. shall we say.. evidence, has come up suggesting that the attempted resurrection of Zeref at the Tower of heaven wasn't your endgame. We have reason to believe that Ultear is up to something more sinister, something, that you might have helped create,'

'So you think I've created another world destroying machine of some sort, and you want to pick my brains and stop it before Grimore Hearts starts it up?,' said Jellal, his hackles rising.

'What he means is that,' added Erza 'We want to help you remember. _I _want you to remember. Not just the bad things, but all the good memories we had, back before.. you know..,'

'Before I ruined it,' said Jellal, turning away 'Yeah, I've heard,'

Erza was at loss for words. He was hurting, and she couldn't do or say anything to comfort him. She couldn't even comfort herself. Not when the truth was burned so glaringly into her memory. How could she make him see, how could she make him feel the whiplash, the afterburn that those painful memories still held for her? How could she make him understand that she wanted them both to heal, to get past their shared past, when he couldn't access his memories, and she found it too painful to watch those memories all over again.

'Oh kay,' said Sweets, breaking the silence.

'We should all get some rest. At first light tomorrow, I vote we make our move for the Magnolia-Symphonia border,'

Silence met his words.

_Damn, they sure aren't happy campers. _He thought

'I'll take first watch,' said Sweets.

…

It was late, very late. Probably even past midnight. Jellal and Erza had retired into the tent. Thank goodness he had the sense to pack a tent magically enlarged enough to be a single story hut. Otherwise, sleeping arrangements would've been messy.

_Not that those two would mind_

A smile tugged at Sweets' lips as he raised his newly re-grown hand, examining his handiwork. The Etherion was good for something after all. In his opinion, the magic was sorely misunderstood. It wasn't just the magic of destruction, it was also the magic of creation.

_The power to turn something into nothing and nothing into something._

The fire in front of where Sweets was keeping warm suddenly crackled with bursts of magic. Lowering his hand, Sweets saw the face of Councilman Shinra staring back at him through the fire, his face tinted an ugly shade of yellowish orange, like some ugly demonic apparition.

'So?,' said Shinra in a whisper 'What do you have to report?,'

'Nothing much has happened since we left the prison site,' said Sweets in a disinterested voice, examining his hand again.

'But after all, its only been a couple hours. You should learn to relax old man. Watch your blood pressure,'

'And what of Jellal? Is he who we think he is? Does he remember?,' asked Shinra urgently.

'Wrong again father-in-law,' said Sweets, finally meeting the Councilman's gaze.

'He doesn't seem to be _anybody_'s reincarnation. That guy probably doesn't even remember his own birthday. All he wants to do is run away with his sweetheart and elope. Why can't you council people leave them alone?,'

'I will not tolerate this insolence from you, bastard!,' yelled Shinra, his moustache flopping erratically.

'And you will not address me as family. Not after what you did to my daughter. The only reason you're on this case is because you're a walking time bomb. And I hold the trigger.,'

Sweets' expression darkened. In the end, he was a weapon after all.

And the prize for completing the mission? His freedom.

The flames had flickered and died. As soft pellets of water hit his face, he turned up to the heavens as they finally shed tears for the fallen.

…

'_I'm fortunate that all the women in my life are stupid enough to believe what I say,'_

_Jellal let out a maniacal laugh as Erza swung her twin swords into the tower again, missing him, but shattering a host of lacrima crystals in the process._

'_Is that all you've got? Did you perhaps use all your energy fighting Ikagura?,'_

_Her yell of frustration and the look of pure anger and hatred which crossed her features only served to excite Jellal more. His Erza, his warrior princess, fighting him so earnestly. When will she learn? She was playing right into his arms._

'_I wasn't strong enough… to beat Zeref in the end,' how easily the lies passed through his lips. How foolishly she let her guard down and sympathy crossed her features. How stupid. How innocent._

_How much he wanted to pin her down himself, to let her fear him one last time. To touch her delicious body that he would likely never feel again. To kiss her, to taste her, to thrill her._

_The Binding Snake worked its magic, burning her skin, eating into her muscles, halting her movement. As she screamed in pain, he said the words that would hurt her even more._

'_I love you, Erza,'_

…

A layer of sweat moistened Jellal's skin as he bolted up from his nightmare. The memories always came back to him this way. In dark, fragmented visions. Only when his mind was quiet and calm, could he piece together the entire scene, making sense of the distorted mess that were his memories. He placed his face in his palms, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm him down.

He could hear the pitter patter of rain on the roof of the tent.

_Drip drip drop_

That's right, there had been a water mage at the tower too. He remembered. She –what was her name?- and that other girl, the stellar mage –the blonde-. They beat one of his assassins.

He turned and stared at the only other occupant of the tent. Erza lay in a cot a few feet away from him, her features calm and serene, her blanket riding low over her nightie and for the strangest reason, he felt the urge to kiss her.

_This wasn't the first time he had watched her sleep wasn't it?_

But that memory was lost to him. For now.

He got up, slipped on his shoes and made his way out of the tent, into the light rain. He needed a walk to clear his head. He noticed that Sweets was nowhere to be seen.

After a few minutes of walking through the dark forest, guided only by the fire in the palm of his hand, Jellal stopped at a cliff overlooking a lush valley. The smell of earth after rain calmed his senses. Nature always did calm him. Even back at prison, the highlight of his day would often be the daily walks the guards allowed them. And if you were good, they would let you stay out longer.

He could've been staring out into the distance for a few seconds, minutes, hours even, but the next thing he knew, he heard a soft rustling behind him and he turned to see Erza standing behind him. Now clad in shorts and t-shirt. She wore a look of relief on her face.

'Found you,' she smiled 'What's the matter? Can't sleep?,'

'Why aren't you angry at me?,' asked Jellal, ignoring her question.

At her bewildered look, he continued.

'I remember. I remember what happened that day in the throne room in the tower. We fought. I hurt you, in the worst way possible. I tried to kill you, Erza!,'

He paused, as if it pained him to continue.

'I said those horrible things and I lied to you. Made you believe me and then rip it all out from under you. You should hate me, you should want me dead,'

'So why don't you?,'

Erza looked down at the soggy grass between her feet. Jellal couldn't see her eyes, them being obscured by her bangs. He hoped, he prayed.

'You weren't you,' she said after awhile.

'You were possessed. I knew the Jellal from my childhood was a kind and gentle man. I knew he was in there somewhere. He is. He's standing in front of me right now,'

She paused again, choosing her words carefully.

'Lets not talk about this now, let's go back,' she said, extending an arm towards him, wanting him to take her hand, just like she had to his, so many times before. 

She waited, and when he did not take her hand, the smile disappeared from her face.

'Jellal?,'

'Its Natsu, right?,'

'What?,' said Erza, clutching her hand to her chest.

'The way you looked at him when he pulled you out of the crystal, the way he swept you into his arms when he saved you. You looked at him like he was your savior.'

There was a look of anger and disgust on his face. The likes of which Erza was frightened of. The face of the man she never wanted to see again.

'I should have won that night. I should have won a long time ago! You should've trusted me, let yourself be with me. But you chose _him_ over me, them over _me_,'

Rooted to the ground in shock, Erza stood in silence. He was spouting nonsense. No way in hell was she going to stand that, not after what he had put her through.

'Stop it!,' she yelled

'Don't you see?,' she said, tears already brimming the corners of her eyes.

'I didn't end it when I had my chance that night because I _couldn't _. You, Jellal, are the reason the walls around my heart are so thick that I let no one in! My fear of you is the reason I spent every single day of those 8 years wishing and wondering if my friends were alright, not daring to make a move!,'

'When you took the full blast of Etherion from the tower, and I thought you had died, a part of me wanted to die as well,'

'And when you came back, I felt happy again, like I could make everything right,'

She paused, gauging his expression for a reaction.

'There's no logic behind that is there? What I'm doing now is madness!,'

Tears fell freely from her eyes now.

'I see now,' she said softly

'There will never, truly be happiness between us will there?,'

He was silent. His face no longer bore those hateful expressions, but he made no more to console her, neither did he say anything at all. He hadn't planned the outburst, and a dead weight had settled itself in his stomach.

_He had made her cry. Again._

'Stay away from me , Jellal,'

And in that moment, his world shattered.

**Woots! End of Chapter 3! Im taking this as a little birthday present to myself… bwahaha.. **

**So yup.. tons of Rave Master references here. The main reason being that Rave Master was the very first anime I ever watched in my life. And I feel like paying tribute to its greatness. In this fic, Symphonia and Magnolia are neighboring countries. **

**Alright, its 1.20 am, and im craving a sandwich. Please leave a review if you're free. It would definitely make my day.**

**Cheers!**

**Asianpearl!**


	4. Resolve

Standard disclaimers apply.

Tears fell freely from her eyes now.

'I see now,' she said softly

'There will never, truly be happiness between us will there?,'

He was silent. His face no longer bore those hateful expressions, but he made no move to console her, neither did he say anything at all. He hadn't planned the outburst, and a dead weight had settled itself in his stomach.

_He had made her cry. Again._

'Stay away from me , Jellal,'

And in that moment, his world shattered.

**CHAPTER 4 : RESOLVE**

Erza did not wait around to see his reaction. She couldn't take it anymore, her chest felt like it was being compressed, her breathing became ragged, and as she sobbed freely and let the tears run down her cheeks, she felt for all the world like her heart was breaking. She ran away from Jellal , not caring, not seeing, not thinking. She didn't care where to, all she wanted was to be as far as humanly possible from him.

Buy honestly, what had she expected? Did she honestly think that after she got him out of prison, everything would magically become alright? That they would run into each other's arms in a middle of a field of flowers like those couples in movies? Erza cursed herself for her foolishness. Of course they did not trust each other completely; of course there would be closets of skeletons that they would have to pick through before they moved on.

In the darkness, Erza stumbled over a tree root and fell face down on the ground. With heavy sobs still escaping her and with her knees and elbows now smarting, she pulled herself into a sitting position and leaned her back against the offending tree. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, rocking back and forth, trying to regain some measure of composure. Finding none, she gripped her fists in frustration and anger until she was positive she had drawn blood. So wrapped up in her own mind was she that she failed to notice the shadowy figures lurking in between the trees.

….

'_Stay away from me, Jellal,'_

The words still rang within him, resonating, reverberating, like the sound of laughter in a tunnel, bouncing off its walls until all you hear is its ghostly echo, and you begin to question whether the sound was even there in the first place. He fell to his knees on the cliff, a sudden rush of memories pouring into his mind, the force of it akin to the surging water of a broken dam. Images and emotions of such vivid richness flooded into his conscious mind that it physically pained him. He clasped his hands to the sides of his head as his temples throbbed excruciatingly. It never happened like this before. Not at this speed, not this clearly.

_In rage, he pinned her to the wall behind him, both of his arms encasing her sides in a steel cage, observing the delicious fear in her eyes, he lowered his lips to be within a breath's distance from her ear and whispered,_

'_Oh Erza, my sweet, beautiful Erza, Do you really think I can stay away from you so easily?'_

They were both dressed formally, alone in a dark corridor with the faint notes of music floating in the back ground.

'_I am your past, and I am your future, in life and even in death, we are bound to each other, '_

Oh god, when had that happened? Did Erza remember this?

'_No,' Came Erza's whisper. 'Your pain, I want to feel it. Even if I can't make your darkness fade away, even if I can't be your light, I want to be there for you,'_

_She brought her lips near his again and whispered_

'_I want you,'_

Oh god.

_She reached up and smoothed the moisture from his eyes, her fingers shaking, and then she pulled him down to kiss him, and he lost the tiny bit of control he'd been clinging to. He pulled her legs up, tight around his hips. He tried to move slowly, deliberately, but her fingernails were digging into his back, she was shivering and shattering in his arms and he could feel her body clamp around his and there was no holding back._

Oh god.

The visions had stopped. All that was left were the scattered jigsaw pieces, slowly forming a picture in his mind. And with every piece that became clearer, more solid in his mind, the more horrified he became.

He was a monster. He had taken advantage of her, constantly obsessing over her, always watching her, forever reminding her that she could never outrun her past. He had taken her freedom, her courage, and the very essence of who she was. He had forced her out into the world, clipped her wings, and after eight years, brought her back into the fire. He used her fears and her insecurities to further his goals, he toyed with her feelings to save his life, and as if that wasn't enough, he bound her to him and marked her as his.

And even after that, she still came back for him, still wanted to put her trust in him. She claimed he had been possessed. So why then did he see these images with clarity, remember them as if they had happened yesterday?

And he had blamed, accused her of coveting another, when he himself did not deserve her light. He had hurt her, again.

Suddenly, a strangled, feminine cry rang out through the woods, followed by the clang of metal upon metal. Fear and adrenaline coursed through his system as he ran directly into the darkness, trusting his feet to bring him to her, probing and scrying with his mind to see if she was alright.

'JELLAL!,' came a frightened scream.

_Oh god. What had he done?_

…_._

Their footsteps were too loud, too obvious. Even in her haze of emotion, she could pick up the scent of a threat that these men posed. There were five, maybe six of them, surrounding her in all directions. Judging by the sound of their heavy footfalls on the fairly even terrain, they were of medium to large build, with no desire of approaching stealthily. Either they wanted her to hear them and be scared, or they knew who she was and used their bravado to pose a challenge.

She was stupid to let herself get sneaked up upon like this. She was stupid to have wandered so blindly into the woods. She was stupid to have run from him like that. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Channeling all her anger into her battle aura, she stood up and looked straight at her enemies, they were circling her now, like vultures on attack. Her earlier assumptions had been right. Five large bodied men and one smaller one –a leader?- were in her immediate vicinity. She recognized none of them. And now that the storm clouds had cleared, the moonlight picked out more and more of their features. All of them were bald and heavily tattooed. Except for the small one, he looked like a shriveled old man, standing outside the circle of body builders, he had long coils of oily black hair and beetle like eyes, he was clothed in what looked like rags. Erza realized from the get go that something was amiss with this man.

And then they charged. Re-equipping in a split second, she swung the sword in her right hand to dispatch the man that closed in first. The metal tore through his shirt and skin, drawing blood and sending him reeling backwards. Using the momentum of the follow through of the swing, she pivoted her left arm and sent the sword through the arm of the second man, incapacitating him and watching as he fell to the ground.

The third man grabbed her from behind, pinning her elbows to her sides and lifting her off the ground, causing her to drop her swords. Mustering all her strength, she aimed a kick to his knee and heard a satisfying crack as the joint snapped painfully. The man dropped her to the ground and she used that opportunity to send a roundhouse kick to his chest, knocking him to the ground before finishing him with a swift blow to the neck. As she turned to look for the fifth man, a sudden blow to her stomach knocked the wind out of her and sent her reeling on the ground. Through watering eyes, she saw the fifth man stand over her, raising a large knife above his head, preparing to stab her. However, the knife fell out of his hands before he even had the chance to use it, as Erza launched a kick to his groin and quickly dispatched him as he lay writhing before her.

Now all that was left was the small, oily man. However, as she scanned the clearing, he appeared to have disappeared. Odd, thought Erza, he couldn't have made a run for it without her realizing. It had become quiet, too quiet. The forest insects had stopped scuttling about, even the wind had ceased. Something was wrong, very wrong. Suddenly, the hairs on her neck prickled, and she turned around to find the man standing directly behind her. She let out a scream of fear as she saw that his eyes were completely black now, like a blood thirsty demon.

'Marionette,' he whispered hoarsely, as a red magic circle appeared under his feet and hers.

Immediately, Erza was immobilized. She had felt this sensation once before, when Jellal used his Binding Snake on her. The inability to control your own limbs, the quickening of your pulse within your chest and the obtuse fear in the pit of her stomach that you were now vulnerable to attack. But instead of the searing pain that the binding snake had caused, there was only numbness now. As if she had suddenly ingested copious amounts of alcohol. Though her mind was still clear, a strange twinge ran through her body, tingling through her nerves as it went.

She glared at the man as he approached her, a sick smile spreading on his lips. He looked at her as if she were some interesting doll. Licking his lips and mumbling to himself excitedly. She flinched away as he raised a dirty, grimy hand to her face and ran it down her skin, in a sickeningly slow caress. He took a strand of her hair between her fingers and sniffed at it, his black eyes widened with excitement and Erza strained, drawing any and all magical power and her entire will to escape. Nothing happened.

The man flexed his hand suddenly and Erza was thrown on her back to the ground. She saw the man kneeling before her.

'_Oh pretty woman with firm young breasts,_

_Come open your legs and let me taste your peach,'_

His voice came out like a warble more than any actual poem or song, Its horrible sound rasping though his throat. However, to her mortification and disgust, she found her hands rising to either side of her head, hips rising off the ground, her legs spreading as her body disobeyed her every command.

'No, no, no!,' she said desperately. Anything but this, even death would be welcome, but not _this._

The horrid man began rubbing his groin excitedly.

'_Lie down my sweet and close your eyes,_

_Let me enter you so deep, so…'_

'NO!,' yelled Erza, managing the words out of her mouth this time. But that was it, her body dropped back down to the ground, still under his control. The small man appeared furious as he loomed over her, mumbling some incomprehensible something under this breath.

'Filthy woman! You cannot escape me! I will make you suffer. Oh yes, I will. I wanted this to be easy but no, you resist me!,'

The man knelt down by her again, this time, picking up the knife dropped by his fallen accomplice and pressing it against Erza's throat.

'Do it woman! Scream out the name of your lover; call out in despair for him! And I will watch the light die in your eyes as he never comes, and you surrender entirely!,'

No, Erza wasn't weak, she would not die like this, she wouldn't. She tried to make her sword levitate and strike the man as she did multiple times before. But as much as she tried, the man's magic held her down. And she could not as much as move a finger. But she wouldn't call for him. She didn't need him. Not anymore.

'CALL FOR HIM!,' the man bellowed, insanity dancing in his eyes. The blade pressed further against her neck, drawing blood.

'JELLAL!,' she screamed.

Whether it was his magic or her fear, she had no idea. And she watched helplessly as the man raised the blade over his head, his face split in an ugly smile as he laughed manically. Erza's heart pounded in fear as he brought the blade down, and missed.

Some invisible force had knocked the man sideways onto the ground many feet away from Erza. As the magic which held her body in place disappeared, she got to her knees just in time to see a large grey wolf charge at the man. The wolf savagely attacked the man, tearing his flesh mercilessly using its sharp paws and teeth. The man's cries were horrifying, they filled the night, and Erza made no move to stop it.

The wolf, she realized, she had seen before.

'ERZA!,' came a shout from somewhere behind her. Never before was she more relieved to hear that voice.

In an instant, he had embraced her, he checked her once over for damage, before pulling her protectively behind him and advancing on the man. The wolf fell obediently away, licking its bloody muzzle but still growling fiercely.

The man was still alive, bloody and mauled, but alive still. Jellal faced the disgusting specimen before him, fury and rage beyond whatever he had felt before. This man had hurt his angel, this man would die. He threw his fist forward and a bolt of electricity shot from his hand and jolted the man.

Within seconds, his screams had become no more. His burnt body lay in a crumpled heap on the ground. And Erza covered her mouth with her hand, the shock not truly leaving her system. She stared at his motionless back as the gravity of the situation dawned on her.

_He had murdered to protect her._

The wolf pawed towards her, and nuzzled Erza's cheek with its big head. She raised a hand to stroke its soft grey fur. It had green eyes. Just like him.

'Erza,' he said, turning to her 'I'm sorry,'

He drew her into and embrace and rested her head against his shoulder.

'I didn't want it to turn out like this. I saw him hurt you and I-,'

'Shh..,' she said softly , 'Let's go back, this wasn't your fault,'

He nodded stiffly, and with the wolf leading the way, they slowly made their way back to the camp, silent, until..

'I don't ever want you to get hurt,' said Jellal.

'I know I've done terrible, unforgivable things in the past, but if you could just give me a chance, I'll find a way. I promise, I'll make it up to you,'

'Jellal I-,' Erza was starting to feel light headed. Fighting that old puppeteer had made her exert herself more than she should have.

'I would do anything for you,' he said, cutting her off with desperation in his voice

'I know I don't deserve this, but please, just, don't leave me again,'

'I can't survive without you. You're my light,'

'Jellal,' she said.

'Yes?,'

'I feel… strange..,' and then, she slumped onto the ground, her body finally giving out on her. Exhaustion finally took over and the last thing she heard before she blacked out was Jellal's frantic cry.

….

When she awoke next, they were back in the tent. The absence of light meant that it was still night. Or, very early in the morning. She lay on one of the sleeping bags, free of her armor. She turned around to see Jellal lying next to her, his head propped on one elbow, watching her intently. For awhile, they just lay like that, lost in their own thoughts. And then he brought his other hand up to brush the hair out of her face.

The action brought back the memory of the puppeteer's hands on her face and she flinched away because of it. However, Jellal took it to mean something else and withdrew silently, getting up and moving away. Suddenly feeling the absence of his warmth beside her, a slight panic rose in her chest.

'Don't go, please,'

He looked back at her, searching her face for any sign of mistrust. He just couldn't trust himself to be around her. What if it happened again? What if the past repeated itself? Both of them had seen just how easily his self control could slip when he was around her. He couldn't hurt her again, and he knew he would do just that by staying.

_But, wouldn't he hurt her more by leaving?_

'I'm sorry,' she said, 'Let's not fight anymore alright?,'

She had propped herself on her elbows, and from his vantage point, he could see the scar on her throat from where the man had cut her last night. Again, the surge of protectiveness flowed through him, and he realized, belatedly, that he wouldn't be able to leave her even if he tried.

'I want you to promise me something first,' said Jellal

'Anything,' she replied

'I won't leave your side. I'll protect you with all my soul. But, if things ever… if I ever go back to the way I was before, I want you to kill me youself,'

'What?,' said Erza the shock written all over her face 'No, never! I would never ever hurt you!,'

'I would rather die than to go back to being the monster I was. So please, promise me that if I ever become that man again, if I ever lose myself completely to darkness, promise me that you will end me,'

'Do you honestly value your life so little?,' said Erza in a whisper, she was shaking.

'Do you even care how I would feel if you died? Haven't I made myself clear last night? Do not ask me such things lightly Jellal Fernandes!,'

'We will live! The both of us, together! And we will heal from our past. It will take time, sure, but together, we will get back your memories and fix what has been broken,'

He nodded wordlessly as he mulled her words around his head. She was a stubborn one, that's for sure. And as he looked back at her face, she gave him a smile that caused something in his belly to churn. In a good way, of course. In a way which made him smile back, and reach out for her hand.

Once her hand found his, she gave it a tug and nodded to the spot beside her on the sleeping bag.

_Ah .. what the hell.. a few more hours of sleep wouldn't hurt._

He lay beside her, gathering her into his arms and spooning her against his chest. Those memories of the bridal suite from so long ago ebbed at the corners of his mind. He pushed them aside for now. There would be time for that later. Breathing in the scent of her hair, he managed to find rest at last.

Outside the tent, Sweets took a swig of the coffee he had just brewed. One thing he knew for sure now, Erza Scarlet was an inspiring woman. He watched the sun peek over the horizon, filling the sky with its warm radiance and chasing away the demons of the night. A breeze ruffled his messy hair and he really believed, for once, that today was going to be a better day then the rest.

**Woots! Another chapter out! Did you like it? Honestly, I didn't like this one much, compared to the rest.. though I have no idea why. Sigh.. maybe my next few chapters won't be as dark.. hmm..**

**Oh yeah, the creepy old bastard I borrowed from Paul Sussman's 'The Hidden Oasis' . Right now, im halfway through the book and I'm really enjoying it. **

**Till the next chapter then! **** Bubbye!**

**Asianpearl**


	5. Trickery

Standard disclaimers apply.

CHAPTER 4 ½ : TRICKERY

It was mundane, as were all days, really. There was only so much deception you could dish out on a daily basis and sometimes, even Jellal got tired of pulling so many strings at once.

Deciding it was time to stretch his legs for a bit, Jellal got up from his large, cushioned chair, strode around his desk and walked towards the windows which stood at the eastern side of his large office. As he flexed his fingers this way and that, popping his knuckles in the process, he stared out of the window at the wide expanse of lawn below.

There were days , of course, when the council members congregated in their large stone room and decided to argue fervently and passionately about various magical issues. And then, there were days like this, where the only thing remotely interesting to happen would be the occasional fan letter or an interview request from 'Sorcerer'.

Pointedly ignoring the stack of papers on the desk that still needed his attention, he heaved a sigh and let his mind wander. Unbidden, soft images of white sheets, red rose petals and even redder hair filled his mind, and like every time he chose to relive that memory, a peculiar warmth pooled inside his belly. But when a brisk knock on his office door jarred his mind out of the gutter, he found himself cursing silently at the intruder.

'Enter,' he said briskly, wanting to get whatever it was over and done with, so that he could focus on other things.

He half turned to the door only to see a read headed woman walk in and shut the door silently behind her. Clad in her usual armor, skirt, and boots, her hair fell in its usual style at its usual length, her eyes were the same beautiful chocolate brown, and yet; though Jellal couldn't pinpoint it, there was something off about her.

She met his eyes nervously and gave him a small smile.

'They told me where to go, those guards at the front door, didn't give much trouble really, thank goodness I-,'

'And what exactly did you tell them?,' said Jellal, cutting her off.

Erza never rambles.

'That I needed to speak with you, about something important. Something that cannot wait,'

'Oh?,' he inquired, watching her take a few small strides into the room, nearing the distance between them. He's watching her fully now, watching her movements, her figure, her lips, her eyes, her voice.

She is close to him now, and he can smell her perfume, feel her aura as it envelopes and entwines with his. His fingers itch to touch her, but he holds them firmly at behind his back, observing her.

'That I was wrong,' she says, in a hushed whisper.

'About the tower, about Zeref, everything. I .. I keep thinking about what you told me , and I'm starting to think that maybe, we can make things right. Maybe, we can correct everything, you know.. start afresh,'

Her fingers work through the lapels of his coat, brushing lightly on his chest where he had left the first two buttons undone. His half lidded eyes trace each movement, slowly processing her words.

'I want to be forgiven, Jellal. I want to see my friends again. I want to go back to the tower,'

He shut his eyes and took in a deep breath. So close, he had been so close to slipping under. But now he saw clearly.

'No,'

'What?,' she asked, dumbfounded.

'I said no,' he stepped away from her. 'Stop these games and leave, before I lose my temper,'

He walked back to his desk, turning away from her in irritation. He shuffled the papers on his table about mindlessly, hoping she hadn't noticed how flustered she had made him become. How easily he had become that.

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and before she could do anything, he had gripped the offending wrist in his and twisted it, so that its owner let out a yelp of pain. Turning around, he gave her a glare and said,

'Leave, now. Ultear,'

The woman before him smirked, the expression so wrong on the face of his beloved. The air around her shifted and shimmered as Jellal watched as Erza's red hair darkened, features morphed and clothes changed to become those of Ultear, ice mage and his unofficial second in command for the conspiracy.

'Aww.. and I thought I had the transformation perfect that time!,' she pouted

'Tell me, what gave it away? Was I too beautiful to fit into the skin of that witch?,'

Jellal sniggered and looked at her wryly

'Don't flatter yourself woman. You're nothing compared to her. I find that I know Erza better than she knows herself sometimes. Don't be so deluded as to think you can copy her just by imitating how she looks and smells,'

Ultear looked angry for a moment as if she had a retort that she bit back at the very last moment. After a while, she said

'Big words, coming from the guy who had to wipe her memory after their little fuck-fest the other night. What's the matter? Can't deal with the morning after?,'

He looked livid. Such anger and hatred boiled in his eyes that for an instant, Ultear was reminded of why she chose this man as her lab rat in the first place. Such power lay dormant beneath those emerald orbs. Such power, that she would put to use once he breaks completely. And what better way to break a man, than to force him to murder the woman he loves?

For the second time that day, the wooden office doors were knocked, and without waiting for a response, a single figure walked into the room. Clad entirely in white, the man raised his hand to his brow in mock salute and with the same hand, flipped his golden bangs out of his eyes.

'Hello there ol' chap! Nice to see you again!,'

Jellal's eyes widened in recognition and he turned to Ultear again, demanding an explanation. He could've sworn there was a triumphant gleam in her cold eyes.

'Jellal, meet our new business partner, Mr White,'

**And there you have it! Haha.. this wasn't really a chapter, more like a short, in-between kinda thing. Initially, I wanted to put this together with chapter 4 but I couldn't find somewhere to slot it in there without interrupting the flow of chapter 4. **

**In short, this is what Jellal remembers. His first meeting with Mr White (well, second actually) . In case you're wondering, the events in this chapter take place after 'Just for Tonight' and before 'Path to Redemption' . **

**And yes, Ultear likes Jellal, and yes, I will mercilessly crush her feelings continuously in chapters to come *ducks* **

**Whaddaya think? Reviews please**

**Asianpearl.**


	6. Festival

Standard disclaimers apply

When the human body is injured and there is a bleeding flesh wound on the surface, thousands of tiny cells called platelets clog the wound from inside the body. This acts as a temporary plug to stem the flow of blood as several larger cells and clotting factors form a meshwork of fiber on the wound. This forms a more permanent seal and is referred to as a scab. It's only a matter of time before new skin grows underneath the scab and the skin is repaired completely. However, some wounds, being too deep, are impossible to heal and clot without assistance. Some wounds; buried and suppressed within one's heart, never show themselves on the surface until it's too late.

**CHAPTER 5 : FESTIVAL**

Erza shielded her eyes against the glare as the harsh mid morning sun boasted its radiance too the world. Wishing that she hadn't left her sunglasses back at Fairy Heights, she uncrossed her legs and stretched them out as much as the backseat of Sweet's jeep would allow. As her muscles stretched and uncoiled, she caught the eye of the emerald eyed wizard who had been observing her though the rearview mirror. He turned to give her a small smile and she returned it, albeit hastily as such normalcy with this man was never common.

After a quick shoveling down of 'Sweet's Breakfast Special' ; which was actually sausages and eggs on toast; they had stuffed everything into the agent's jeep –Erza still had no clue where he got it from- and were now driving towards the border. Both the boys had occupied the front two seats and Erza had been content to nodding off every half hour or so in the back. At around the time when the sun had begun its spotlight reign high in the sky, they had already left the cramped confines of the forest, and according to Sweets, it would not be long before they came across the border.

As Erza looked across the large expanses of greenery which surrounded her, she got the impression that evil just wanted a day off and had decided to give them a break as well. They drove along a dirt path lined with wild flowers and the occasional diminutive dwelling. Although Erza travelled much in her missions, she never really took the time to admire her surroundings. To her, the destination mattered much more than the journey.

'How much longer?,' asked Jellal.

'About an hour,' replied Sweets. 'The council has already provided our travel papers, so we should have no problem crossing into Symphonia,'

'We're lucky to have them on our side for once,' he added as an afterthought.

'And then we'll rendezvous with our contact in Kingstown once we cross the border,' continued Erza.

'Who's the contact?,' the blue haired mage enquired as he peered out the window, scanning the surroundings.

'An old friend,' replied Erza 'He's been doing some undercover surveillance there for the last couple of weeks and apparently he's got information on Grimoire Hearts,'

'Can he be trusted?,' asked Sweets, scrutinizing Erza through the rearview mirror, the jeep bouncing slightly on the uneven road.

'He's an ally of Fairy Tail. If that's what you're wondering,' she answered cynically.

'Look, I don't mean to be the third wheel here, but you guys do know that it's my job to report to the council right?,' said Sweets, gripping the steering wheel.

Receiving no reply from the two of them he heaved a frustrated sigh.

'I can understand why you don't trust me. But can't you just put your judgments aside for awhile? At least we get to know each other better. How can I help you guys if you won't even tell me what's going on?,'

Erza opened her mouth to retort when Jellal beat her to it.

'You're right,' he said 'We need to learn to trust each other, and depend on each other, regardless of how we viewed each other in the past,'

He turned to face Erza.

'As you said, trust and healing take time right?,'

She was silenced. Irritated at having her own words thrown back at her, she fell back onto her seat. Realizing that Jellal's words had more than one meaning, she sheepishly replied.

'Yes, it does,'

Sweet's face lit up in a smile.

'Awesome. Besides, not all council members have secret agendas you know,'

Choosing to ignore the withering look that Jellal sent his way, Sweets began drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he pushed the jeep faster. It wasn't one of those magical contraptions which sucked up your life force to move. It was pure gas and horsepower. Sweets considered himself some sort of a purist, effectively proud of himself for not relying on magic to do every little thing. Of course, in his current _condition _, every fight and every day was a challenge for him.

Jellal had found some potato chips in the glove compartment and Sweets watched humorously as Jellal tried to pry open the stubborn plastic container. Unfortunately for him, he managed to get it open just as the jeep jolted and jerked in one of the road's potholes. As the thin chips flew like a mini blizzard and chaos ensued in the cramped passenger compartment, Sweets sniggered.

_This is gonna be one heck of a road trip._

Kingstown, as it turned out, was a quaint little settlement slightly smaller than Magnolia. Cobblestone pathways snaked through the city, running in and out of tiny alleyways and spreading out into massive boulevards which boasted gaudy turn of the century architecture. The buildings themselves were made mostly of red clay bricks, each of them lined up side by side along those cobblestone roads, each of them never going higher than three floors, giving the town a sense of uniformity. Being situated so close to the ocean, the salty scent of the sea hung lightly on almost everything. The sun blazed onto their backs as merchants yelled themselves hoarse, selling their wares and rowdy jeers and laughter drifted out of open pubs and restaurants wherever they went.

Jellal, Erza and Sweets walked down the main boulevard, taking in the festive atmosphere as the town itself prepared for some kind of festival. Here and there, people were hanging up lights, distributing fliers and setting up tents, all in joyous anticipation of the events to come.

A girl stopped them in the middle of the road. Dressed in a flowery sundress with her brown hair in a high ponytail, the girl, who looked like she was fifteen or sixteen said flirtatiously to Jellal,

'Hey there handsome! Not from around here are you?,'

Jellal looked sideways at his companions for support, Sweets was trying his hardest-and failing- to hold back a grin and Erza's brow started to twitch. Before Jellal could comprehend what that could possibly mean, the girl shoved a flier in his face.

**SAINTS AND SINNER'S MASQUERADE!**

**ARE YOU AN ANGEL OR A DEMON?**

**COME SHOW US TONIGHT AT THE TOWN HALL!**

**~IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE YEAR END FESTIVAL~**

'You should totally come!,' said the girl giggling between her words

'And you could be my date if you don't have one!,'

It was probably a girl thing, or it was probably because she had sensed Erza's murderous aura. But she instantly backed away and quickly muttered something along the lines of 'whoopise' and 'sorry, didn't know you were taken,' She then scampered away, but not before turning back and sending Sweets another flirtatious wink.

Erza fumed and took a look at the men by her side, one blushing sheepishly and the other laughing uncontrollably. The vein on her temple now throbbing in earnest, she grabbed the two men by their elbows and dragged them along.

'_Men!,'_ she muttered darkly

Jellal heaved a sigh and made his way along the boardwalk next to the seashore. He was alone now, since Erza and Sweets had unceremoniously left him to do some 'investigating' there. She seemed to be put off by something. Mulling through his thoughts, his mind drifted back to that girl who had handed him the flier. She wasn't upset was she? Sure the girl had flirted shamelessly, but there really was no reason for the redhead to be upset unless..

Jellal leaned his hands on the railing separating the boardwalk from a strip of beach. It was getting close to evening now, and people were starting to leave the beach to get ready for tonight's festivities. The wind toyed with his hair, and for a moment, he was tempted to summon his wind wolf to allow it to gambol around the beach; but he stopped short as he realized that people were probably not going to enjoy the company of the massive grey wolf, no matter how playful she was.

How exactly did Erza feel about him? How did he feel about her? They were undoubtedly loyal to each other, that was for sure. And he knew instantly that they would rather die than be separated from each other. But what lay beyond that?

There might have been childish romantic feelings between them when they were still slaves. There definitely was rivalry between him and Simon when it came to Erza. He pinched the bridge of his nose in shame as he remembered their night in that bridal suite; admitting to himself that he was definitely attracted to her on _that_ level. But god, who wouldn't be? Any man who could deny Erza Scarlet was either out of their mind or not a man at all.

But would it make sense to pursue her romantically? Could he provide for them in the long run? Did she share his feelings and yearnings for something _more _?

And what about her comrades in fairy tail? What would Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Markarov think? As far as they knew, he was a convicted felon. One of the bad guys who had tried to ruin their lives in the past. To them, the idea of him courting Erza might even be as ridiculous as Erigor having the hots for Lucy.

Shuddering at the thought , he continued on his sulking walk down the path. It was slowly getting dark and Jellal watched as the lights flickered on inside various houses and shop lots.

What if someone made a move on Erza before he could tell her how much she meant to him? What of Erza rejected his advances? What if –god forbid- she asked his permission to be with someone else and made him her maid of honor? The thought of her being happy in the arms of another man set a bitter taste in his mouth and he frowned as he kicked an innocent pebble lying in his path.

As he passed the last shop on the boulevard, his attention was suddenly drawn to the items on display. Instantly, a smirk plastered itself on his face and he rushed in, deciding to worry about the details later.

_He had a party to go to._

Erza walked into the bar alone, after parting with Sweets at the town square. She had determinedly told him that he could not meet her contact since the latter himself requested privacy and did not want to be seen with her. Although Sweets had a multitude of protests and Erza wouldn't be half surprised if she found him crouched outside the door later, she had assured the agent that he could trust her. Even for just this once.

She made her way to the bar and ordered herself a gin and tonic. As she sat at one of the backless red high stools there, she let her eyes roam the interior of the dimly lit room. No sign of him yet. As the barkeep set about preparing her drink, she let her mind wander. Unwillingly, it drifted onto the events of the afternoon, of the twisting feeling of jealousy that coiled in her gut as she watched that limpet bat her eyelashes at Jellal. Reasoning with herself that she had no reason to be worried, she almost didn't notice the stool beside her scraping backwards or the heavy set man sitting there. She kept her eyes trained on her drink even as the man placed his large hands on the countertop and ordered a bottle of beer.

He took a heavy swig of the golden amber liquid and she watched, disgusted, as some of it spilled out of the corners of his mouth, dribbling onto his shirt collar. Red , this time.

'Still the same as always,' she murmured 'You never had the best manners even when we were kids, or any manners for that matter,'

He let out a bark of laughter and gave her a hearty thump on the back. Something, she recalled, he used to do when they were kids, when they would occasionally gang up against Natsu and the others.

'After all this time, and this is the greeting I get?,' he asked, his lightning bolt scar stretching slightly as he raised his eyebrows.

'Not even a hug or a "how are you" or "thanks for meeting me although it could cost me my reputation"?,' he goaded.

She swiveled around to look at him, smirking slightly.

'Alright then, how are you Laxus? How's life in exile been treating you?,'

'Man, you've got your knickers in a twist don't you?,' he said, draining the rest of his beer.

'That's what happens when you don't get laid enough. You get uptight ya know?,'

'Says the guy who couldn't get lucky even if he wore a necklace made of rabbit's feet and four leaf clovers,'

'You remember that?,' he said incredulously 'Man, what were we.. like ten?,'

'We were thirteen, and you,' she said, prodding his chest with her finger 'Were desperate,'

They stared at each other for awhile and then after a few seconds of silence, burst into identical rounds of laughter.

'Ah.. those were the days,' said Laxus, running a hand through his spiky anti-gravity blonde hair.

'So where's this replacement Mystogan I've been hearing so much about? I think, as your unofficial big brother, I think I should at least approve him before he goes carting you off into the sunset,'

'We're not..like that,' said Erza, picking the right words. 'And where are those things you promised me?,'

Laxus unzipped a knapsack by his side to show Erza a few files, audio tapes and CDs. He then re-sealed the bag, murmuring a spell briefly before handing it over to Erza.

'Now only you can open it,' he said 'I've officially washed my hands clean of this. It's taken me three long weeks, but I'll be a monkey's uncle if you can find anyone who does a better job of getting this much information in this little time,'

'And that's why I chose you, Laxus,' she said, returning to her somber state, twiddling the empty glass in her hands, watching as the slice of lime slipped from side to side on the bottom.

'There's another reason isn't there?,'

She placed her glass down and clasped her hands together, interlocking her fingers and watching the light bounce off her shimmery nail polish. She had decided to forgo armor today.

'Am I being foolish, going after this by myself? Do you think I'm being foolish, thinking that I can challenge the system and the council themselves? ,'

'I mean, sometimes I look at what I've done, and I think I'm going way over my head. I think, what if I screw up, what if, this one chance at happiness just, well, fails?,'

Sobering up for a minute, Laxus replied

'When I decided to start the Battle of Fairy Tail, I was so single minded and stubborn, I couldn't see straight out of my tunnel vision. Nothing that anyone could say would stop me, and that led to my doom,'

'But you're different, you're not doing this just for yourself, and you genuinely care about what other people think and feel. So no, you're not being foolish. Rules are meant to be broken anyways and the council needs to see that not all of their choices are right,'

He stood up to leave, and Erza was left turning his words around in her head.

'Go see your man Erza,' he said merrily 'you've got my blessing,'

Her eyes widened and she turned around to stop him, but before the words could even leave her mouth, the lightning wielder had already disappeared into the night.

It was only eight at night but already, the party was in full swing. Loud music played from the speakers, people danced on the hardwood floor, elderlies sat at the tables, drinking, smoking and laughing; children in various masks and costumes ran chased each other happily across the makeshift ballroom.

Jellal weaved his way through the crowd, eagerly looking for Erza in the sea of people. He knew that they didn't officially decide to meet at the party, but he had hoped that like him, something magnetic would draw her to this place, to him.

He was dressed in a smart white dress-shirt, black pants and a long dark blue velvet overcoat. The coat was laced with gold and silver embroidery, filling his collar and sleeves with magnificent loops of design. Gold fastenings ran down the front of his coat and he had decided to top off the outfit with a gold colored mask lined with black swirls matching the design of the coat.

He scanned the room, hoping he had made the right choice, wishing , that by some miracle, that by the end of tonight, she would be in his arms again, where she was meant to be all along.

'Jellal?,' came a voice from behind him.

He turned around to see Erza standing behind him. She was dressed in a green turquoise ballgown which contrasted beautifully against her pale skin and red hair. The dress was sleeveless and strapless, revealing only slightly, the tops of her breasts. It hugged her form like a second skin and billowed out from her hips in waves of black satin and lace. Her hair was pinned up in a lose bun, with a few strands falling on her face. She completed the look with a jet black mask studded with green rhinestones.

He took one of her gloved hands in his and placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles.

'You look beautiful. If I were a poetic man, I'd compare you to the moon and say it couldn't hold a candle to you,'

'That's just plain cheesy,' she giggled 'But you already know that,' as a blush appeared on her cheeks. Admittedly, he was extremely handsome himself.

'It was your hair,' she said, stating the obvious 'No one has hair like yours, not in that exact color anyway,'

'I was about to same about you,'

He smiled and nodded to the exit.

'Wanna check out the gardens? It's getting loud in here,'

Not letting go of her hand, he gave a gentle tug and led her out into one of the town's sprawling gardens. Rows of low hedges, majestic trees and statues of all kinds lined the quiet sanctuary. The smell of honeysuckle permeated the air and the occasional firefly buzzed around them, its glowing light adding magic to the already enchanted night.

He brought her to a fountain in the middle of the park and turned to face her. Holding her hands momentarily , he gazed into the depths of her eyes.

'I've got a present for you,'

Her eyes lit up in glee and Jellal thought she was the most adorable thing ever. He vowed to keep that smile on her face , to keep her happy as long as he could.

Out of the pocket of his coat, he produced a pendant that hung on a necklace of silver. The pendant was made of a single sapphire the size of a thumbnail surrounded by tiny red rubies. It looked like a cluster of stars. Erza gasped and clasped her hands to her mouth in shock.

'It's gorgeous,'

She turned around and faced her back to him.

'Help me with it,'

Jellal slowly secured the pendant , letting his fingers linger momentarily on the clasp, and then on the smooth surface of her neck.

She felt his breath ghost along the surface of her neck and she felt goosebumps rise where his fingers touched her skin. This was all familiar somehow, but oddly, she couldn't place the memory. As she felt the weight of the pendant settle on her throat she fingered the gemstone and turned around to face him again.

He was close to her now, and she could smell his cologne. Could make out the various shades of green that colored his eyes and could almost feel the texture of his lips. She raised her hands and removed his mask, as he did to her. She let her fingers linger over his tattoo, tracing from his brow where it began to his cheek, where it narrowed to a point. She never did ask where he got it.

His eyes drifted from her face to her lips to her face again. She knew what was coming next, she had seen it in countless movies, read about it in countless books, and now..

_The hero would lower his head to meet hers.._

He seemed so sure of himself.

_Her eyes would drift shut.._

Another movie cliché, for sure. So then , why were her own lids closing?

_And their lips would meet, only just touching.._

She wouldn't want to scare him away, not when she was being this bold.

_It would be tentative at first.. quiet, questioning.._

What if he suddenly came to his senses and drew back?

_And then slowly building up momentum, the power of it swelling to a crescendo.._

She could feel his tongue. Oh god, it was better than she'd ever imagined.

_His hands would coil around her, and hers through his hair.._

She wanted to mold them together, in the hopes that they would never part,

_And her right foot would lift magically of the ground.._

Did that just happen?

_The perfect kiss.._

They eventually surfaced for air, both of them panting, breathless. They rested their foreheads against each other and swayed in the tinkling music silently. Both with identical smiles of elated happiness on their faces.

It is the general accepted rule that all things heal with time. That no matter how deep the wound, how severe the pain, healing will always come, eventually. Whether assisted or not, the body as a whole will constantly preserve itself in the best way it knows. So, it can be assumed that as with all scabs, scars, cuts and wounds, the heart itself constantly tries to heal, no matter how many times it has been broken before.

…

Sweets hummed a random show tune that popped into his head as he meandered aimlessly along the city's winding pathways. Not really sure where his destination was, or what he was supposed to be looking for, he continued trotting along the cobblestone streets, occasional notes of music reaching his ears.

'It's a pity we had to lose our man in the forest, and he had such a great power as well,' said a female voice

'True, but I did not expect the prisoner to have elemental powers of all things. It appears we were ill informed,' replied a male voice. This one was more hushed and urgent.

Sweets came to a halt and edged closer to the voices. If they were indeed talking about what he thought they were talking about then..

'And what of the woman and the agent? Should we worry about them as well?,' asked the woman again

'This is Titania we're dealing with, it is always necessary to be cautious around her,' he replied

Sweets could see the two of them now, the man was in the shadows but his eyes widened as he saw the female figure.

'I'll inform the boss. You just keep your ears open,' said the man. And with that he disappeared.

The air was eerily silent for awhile and Sweets decided to leave, he needed to tell Erza and Jellal. They needed to know. The girl stood about 20 meters away from him with her back towards him, she appeared to be staring into the distance. It was the girl that had annoyed Erza earlier. The one in the sundress.

'Hey there handsome, you decided to show up after all,'

In an instant, she was in front of him. Sweets backed off, she moved fast, way too fast for a normal human being.

'It's a costume party, but you aren't in a costume,' she said silkily, her head tipping to one side as she studied him with her large blue eyes. She wasn't smiling anymore.

'Neither are you,' replied Sweets.

It was her turn to smile and Sweets took a step backwards as he saw that when her lips parted in a grin, her teeth were all pointed, like fangs.

'Oh but I am, _this is_ my costume! And wait till you see what I've got underneath it,'

Her voice had taken on a demonic quality to it, going several pitches lower. Her eyes turned yellow and into reptilian slits, her skin morphed green and slimy and her fingers extended into claws.

Reeling in horror, Sweets drew his sword and as the she-demon charged, he prepared himself for what he knew was going to be a very long night.

**End of Chapter 5! Haha.. finally. It took me so much longer to do this one. The main reason being that I was away at my cousin's wedding. And the whole 'roadtrip' thing was inspired by my uncle who has given me more driving tips than I can even remember!**

**I hope this chapter wasn't confusing. I thought of including Laxus at the very last minute because I've recently taken a liking to his character. Initially, I wanted Erza to meet up with Midnight as her contact. But then I thought that would be creepy and Jellal would probably freak out if he found out.. so yeah.. haha.. that one went down the drain.**

**But that doesn't mean I won't bring Midnight into the story. I'm just looking for the right opportunities **** So, the more reviews I get, the faster I'll update! Keep the GerZa love alive people!**

**Cheers!**

**Asianpearl**


	7. Nightmare

**WARNING! THUS CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENCE, BLOOD, GORE AND SEXUAL THEMES. PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU'RE EASILY OFFENDED. PLEASE AND THANK YOU.**

**CHAPTER 6 : NIGHTMARE**

The reptilian charged, claws extended and snarling towards Sweets. He dodged to the left moment s before impact and swung his sword upwards, aiming a blow for the creature's shoulders. There was a dull clang and in the next instant, the fiery red sword was blocked by the reptilian's bare, scaly hand. The creature had managed to turn and block the blow with impressive speed and was now sneering at Sweets, fangs glistening in the moonlight. With the other clawed hand, she struck at Sweet's chest, the latter only just managing to jump away at the last minute. The creature hadn't managed to draw blood but, Sweets looked down at his mangled shirt, finding three claw marks running down the front.

'Damn, this was my favorite shirt,' mumbled Sweets 'Now, where am I going to find a tailor at this time of night?'

'Do not ignore me!,' yelled the creature 'I am Medusa of Grimoire Hearts! You will bow in fear of my power, you piece of council filth, your toy sword is no match for my claws!,'

The line of Sweet's brow hardened. He drew his sword to attack position and shifted his weight to the balls of his feet. The sword ignited, flames licking the blade and illuminating the space between the fighters. The light blinded Medusa for a second, and forced her to shield her eyes.

'Be prepared, you demon, to face my wrath,'

And he sprung forward, swinging his sword downwards and slicing upwards when he neared the demon. The blade missed by a fraction of an inch as she stumbled sideways, her eyes still stinging from the sword's glare. The demoness opened her eyes just in time to see Sweets launching himself into the air and thrusting his sword downwards, aiming dead centre at her chest.

She growled and summoned a ball of magical energy into one of her hands, launching it upwards at the agent. The magical orb collided with the sword and exploded, throwing the agent off his intended course and sending him slamming into the ground. The creature's claws glowed again, and she charged at him, fully intending to put an end to the man's life.

'Ha! So much for your wrath agent! Feel my final blow! Acid Strike!,'

The demoness sliced her claws through the body of the agent- and went straight through him. It took her all of two seconds to figure out what was going on when she felt a sharp pain piercing her abdomen from behind. She looked down to see the tip of the fiery blade protruding out of her belly.

'Thought projection,' he said behind her 'Another one of those 'filthy' council tricks,'

He withdrew his blade and watched her limp body fall to the ground like a rag doll, letting out cries of pain. As she writhed on the ground, the reptilian skin, claws and fangs vanished, and all that was left was the girl in the sundress, bleeding, moaning and in pain on the ground. Oh god, what had he done?

'Sweets?' came a voice from behind him. He turned to see Erza and Jellal standing there, still in their clothes from the masquerade.

'What have you done?,' asked Jellal, horror written on his face, his eyes flicking from the girl's body to Sweet's torn shirt to the bloodstained sword.

Sweets could practically see the gears turning inside the couple's heads. He started forward and felt a stab of panic as Jellal stepped in front of Erza protectively.

_No, this cannot be happening again._

'I know what this looks like, but I swear, she was a member of Grimoire Hearts I tell you, a shape shifter! Just look at her!'

'I would never kill an innocent. I'm one of the good guys,' he met Jellal's eyes. 'You know this,'

'If only it were that easy,' replied Jellal

'SWEETS! LOOK OUT!' screamed Erza

And suddenly, all Sweets felt was pain, red hot, searing pain, blooming from his stomach where he saw a clawed hand protruding from. His vision went black, he gasped for oxygen and his body was on fire, all at the same time. And from behind him came a cold, reptilian whisper.

'As far as dirty tricks go, you'll never be better than me,'

Jellal watched helplessly as Sweets fell to the ground, unconscious. Blood pooled from beneath him. Erza had already re-equipped into her Heartz Kruez armor and was bolting for the demoness, rage evident in her features.

'A member of Grimoire Hearts will not die so easily!,' Medusa sneered, while dodging Erza's blows with amazing speed.

Erza stopped and re-equipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. Jellal appeared by her side, sparks of electricity dancing between his fingers.

'What are you lunatics planning?,' yelled Jellal 'Mark my words, we will put an end to your plans, so might as well quit while you're ahead!,'

Medusa threw her head back and laughed. The sound was shrill, demonic, evil.

'I'll kill you traitor! And your Fairy Tail whore! Just like I did to that council slave! And then Mistress Ultear will finally be proud of me!,'

'Like hell you will!,' yelled Erza, sending swords flying at the creature. Though some of them managed to draw blood, the demon dodged through quite a few as well.

'And Sweets will not die!,'

Medusa was suddenly directly in front of Erza, and the latter recoiled slightly after seeing the yellow reptilian eyes of her quarry. In that precise moment of flinching, the creature slammed her fist into Erza's stomach with incredible strength, knocking the wind out of her.

Jellal called lightning into his hands, forming a spear and just managing to take aim before Medusa twisted Erza's prone body around, bracing one clawed hand against Erza's neck and the other against her stomach. She used Erza as a human shield.

'Ah ah ah… One false move and your woman becomes tomorrow's sushi,' sneered the demon, clicking her claws against each other.

Jellal lowered the spear, mentally tallying his odds, trying to find another alternative, all the while, holding the gaze of the reptilian demon.

Erza gritted her teeth, her fists clenching, readying to re-equip.

'But no one should die so easily,' she whispered silkily into Erza's ear.

'I will show you your worst nightmares. And by the time I'm done, you'll be begging to die,'

And the demon closed Erza's eyes with her hands, and despite her screams and struggles, a dark glow surrounded Erza and she went slack in Medusa's arms.

'Erza! ,' yelled Jellal. 'Witch! What have you done to her?,'

The creature threw Erza's body unceremoniously on the ground. The dark aura still enveloped the Fairy Tail mage.

'I've forced her into the deepest, darkest corner of her mind,' she grinned.

'She will experience horror's so vivid, that she will finally just give up and lose the will to live,'

He pointed the spear towards the demon, swearing that he would put her through hell for what she had done, and that Erza would never give up hope so easily. To that, the demoness laughed and said,

'We'll see,'

...

When Erza awoke, it was dark and cold. She sat up from her reclining position against a hard wooden bench and immediately readied herself for battle. However, the reptilian was nowhere to be seen. Erza, however, found herself in a stone prison cell. The very same one that held her and Natsu after their trial in Fiore all those months ago.

But, Natsu was nowhere to be seen. Erza moved forward, clenching the steel bars and yelling to the frog guards posted outside the cell.

'Let me out! Let me out! I have to get out of here!,'

But the guards did not acknowledge her pleas, nor did they show any sign they even heard her, and after a few more tries at yelling, rattling the bars and even the attachment of various colorful swear words, Erza finally gave up and slumped back on her heels inside the cell. She hung her head, breathing deeply, trying to calm herself. The more she looked around, the more familiar the cell looked, more and more it morphed into the small, dank cell in which she had spent the first few years of her life. She clutched her hands around herself and yanked them away in shock as she found her wrists suddenly bound by manacles. Her armor had vanished as well, leaving behind her thin white blouse and blue skirt.

Hearing footsteps in the hallway, she stood up expectantly, nearing the bars, hoping to grab the attention of whoever passed by.

It was Jellal, or, if according to the timespace in her memory, Siegrain. The man was clad in the usual white garb of his council days. He stopped right in front of her cell and a malicious grin spread on his lips.

'Leave us,' he commanded, and instantly, the frog guards scurried away. Admittedly, there was a surge of authority and power to his voice; the likes of which sent shivers down her spine.

He entered the cell and shut the steel doors behind him, still not meeting her eyes. There was something off about him, something evil.

'You've been a very good girl today Erza,' he said in a low voice.

'You did exactly as I told you and kept our secret,'

He reached out an arm towards her, stroking her face, and then threaded a strand of her crimson hair through his fingers fondling the strand slowly, lovingly.

'Jellal, this is wrong, we have to stop-,'

'Shh… ,' he hushed, stalling her words as he placed two fingers on her lips, his eyes tracing the contours of her face.

'It's time for your reward,'

And with that, his lips replaced his fingers in a brutal kiss. She tried to push him away, but he was stronger than her, and in no time at all, he had her pressed up against the prison wall, one of his hands trapping her wrists over her head, the other, resting on her hip. She couldn't force him off, she couldn't move, and his unrelenting lips left no room for breathing as they, together with his teeth and tongue were quickly deriving her of oxygen.

He finally surfaced for air, his mouth now moving hungrily down her throat, biting and sucking painfully as Erza wheezed out a feeble plea for help, her mouth feeling numb and painful.

'No one will help you here. You're in my domain now,' was it her imagination, or did his voice deepen just a notch. Zeref's voice? Or Medusa's?

And with that thought, a burst of adrenaline shot through her and she pushed his away. Yes, she thought, this was all in her head. This wasn't real, none of this was! The bitch was messing with her memories. And that meant, if she attacked now, the real Jellal would likely not be hurt.

But as she called forth her magical energy to re-equip, like she had done a million times before, nothing happened. She tried again, and still nothing. It was as if someone had flicked an off switch and suddenly, her powers were gone .

'Not so tough without your magic are you Erza?,' mocked Jellal. He didn't give her space to reply as he immediately sent her slamming against the back wall with a magical gust of wind. The impact spread copious amounts of pain throughout her body and she slumped down on the ground, somehow already being drained of her energy already. She felt him approach her again and this time, he knelt down beside her and grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged it, forcing her to face him.

'As I said, be a good girl and you'll be rewarded, if you're naughty however,' he came closer to her ear

'I'll enjoy punishing you,'

With that, her vision suddenly faded into black, and when she woke again, she found herself standing in a massive bedroom. All the furniture in it was white and red rose petals were scattered on almost every flat surface. But the horrific scene which met her eyes made her want to retch. The room was splattered with blood. On the walls, on the carpet and even on her hands. A few feet from the bed, there laid a blood coated dagger and on the bed itself, was a naked male body, lying face down, entangled in the sheets, gaping fresh wounds criss-crossing his back.

The man had blue hair.

_Oh god_

_Oh god. Please no._

She immediately clasped her bloody hands to her mouth in shock, not minding the mess. Bile and panic raised to her throat at one and she rushed immediately to his side. Feeling his neck for a pulse. She thanked the heavens she found one when suddenly a voice sounded in the room.

'Erza…,' he moaned

He opened his eyes and reached out an arm to her,

'Help me..,'

He grabbed her wrist roughly and she felt the sickly, sticky metallic blood on his hand. She pulled away hastily in fear but lost her balance in the process, and fell flat on her behind a few feet away from the bed. He managed to get up at this point, although Erza knew that his injuries would've rendered him immobile in real life. Especially if her assumptions were true and she had inflicted them herself.

_Why was she in a nightgown?_

He had retrieved the dagger and was advancing on her slowly, like some creature from a horror movie, with gashes, scars and bruises all over his chest and arms. Has she done this to him?

'Why Erza?, What did I do wrong? '

As he fingered the dagger, he stared at her with pleading eyes.

'Have I not atoned enough for my sins?,'

He grasped the handle with both hands and she realized belatedly what he was going to do. But she was a fraction of a second too late as he plunged the dagger into his heart. There were tears in his eyes.

'I love you, Erza,'

And he fell forward, like a rag doll.

She screamed like she had never screamed in her life. Scampering away as fast as she could from the body, she bolted through the door. Like a ghost was chasing her from behind.

_This cannot be real._

_This cannot happen._

_This is impossible._

As she threw open the door and ran through it, she stopped short in surprise as she found herself in the throne room of the tower of heaven. Or at least, what she thought was the throne room. Thousands of lacrima crystals protruded from every surface available. The air sparked with energy and she shivered as she looked down on herself to find, no surprise, that she was dressed in only her breast bindings and those loose pants. But, after trying again, she found that she still couldn't equip any of her weapons.

There was s scuffling behind her, and she turned around to see that the doorway had disappeared and in its place stood Jellal, dressed in the same garb he wore on that day. Black overcoat, white undershirt, blue pants and black gloves. She readied herself to fight again. Not because of the relevance of the memory, but because she knew the only way out of this nightmare was to fight. Somehow, she had to find it and defeat it, the very essence of the nightmares themselves.

'Foolish of you to come here alone Erza,' he said, taking slow steps towards her.

'I will stop you witch! Release me from this cursed place now!,'

He looked at her as if she had sprouted an extra head

'I assure you that I am no witch, but yet, I have no intention of letting you go anywhere, with anyone. Now that you've come so willingly to me,'

'As I said, I will stop you,' repeated Erza 'Or I will die trying!,'

He chuckled lightly and approached further.

'Your bravery is remarkable Erza, but foolish, very foolish indeed. You seem to forget that I am an extremely possessive man, and I will not lose you, not even to Death himself,'

'And yet, you intend to sacrifice me to Zeref? Now who is the foolish one here?,'

He halted for a moment, and then smirked silkily as if holding back a great secret.

'All in good time Erza, all in good time,'

'But regardless,' he continued 'You are only a woman, and I am only a man,'

He snapped his fingers and instantly the binding snake coiled around her body, searing her skin, halting her movements. As she screamed in pain, she cursed herself for falling for the same trick twice.

He moved behind her and pulled her against his chest. He bit her earlobe lightly as his hands travelled down south, underneath the waistband of her pants. Unable to recoil from his touch, her eyes widened as she felt a hard bulge touching her rear.

'You shouldn't have come here alone, Erza,'

'Who's going to save you now?,'

…...

Jellal watched helplessly as Erza moaned and writhed in pain. Every once in awhile, she would grip her head as if she was in severe pain and sudden outbursts of 'NO!' and the occasional scream frightened the hell out of him and all he wanted to do was drop everything and hold her to his chest, to stop her from hurting herself until she woke up from the nightmare. But for now, he had his hands full with the creature.

Constantly dodging and evading his attacks and countering with equally impressive speed, Jellal found it tricky to land a solid blow on the demoness. It was taxing work, but now, the creature slumped onto its knees, clutching a bleeding arm and breathing heavily.

'Kill me if you want, but you'll lose your woman forever. The only way out of the nightmare is to defeat your own fear, and I've made that impossible for her. Even if she does live, she will be driven insane by fear. And then you too will know how it feels to have a loved one who cannot recognize your face!,'

Medusa laughed some more and Jellal felt like slitting her throat then and there.

'At least I've killed that council lapdog. My masters will be pleased with that,'

'In your dreams, witch,'

Sweets hoisted himself to his feet, the wound in his stomach completely healed. He looked furious.

'Took you long enough,' said Jellal, though secretly, the elemental was relieved. Sweets made his way over to him and stood beside the ex-convict.

'You can't rush these things, ya know?,'

Medusa's eyes widened and she backed off in fear

'What kind of magic is this? How is this possible? I killed you! You are meant to be dead!,' her voice had turned shrill.

Sweets looked at Jellal and ignited his sword. A brilliant blue flame appeared in Jellal's hand as he took aim.

'Lets finish off this bitch once and for all,'

…...

Erza was running again, now battered, bruised, hurting and ashamed in more ways than one, she was on the verge of breaking. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she blocked it all out : the pain, the sounds, the voices and especially visions. One after another, distorted, twisted visions of her past flashed before her eyes. She had seen Fairy Tail burning to the ground, her comrades dying one by one, and _him_.

Over and over and over again, visions of him tormented her. Him being in love with another woman. Him hurting her, her hurting him. And every time this happened, it carved a gash on her heart until she was sure that her heart could bleed no more, for she had nothing more to live for.

She was not sure how, but her feet had taken her back to Kingstown; back to the same dead-ended street where she had encountered Medusa. But she knew she was still in the dream, for the moon was blood red in the sky and her wrists were still in manacles. The night was silent, and she thanked whatever god there was up there that the visions were leaving her alone for now.

'Erza, Erza!,' came an urgent feminine voice.

She turned around to find a petite brown haired girl approaching her. Erza didn't know this girl and she found it odd that she would encounter an unfamiliar face in this dream. The woman had wavy brown hair that fell well past her shoulders, a kind face, and sharp, penetrating brown eyes. There was a sort of urgency about her gait and she kept on looking over Erza's shoulder, as if she could see something Erza could not.

'We need to get you out of here! Come on!,' she said, reaching out for Erza's hand.

Instinctively, Erza backed away from the woman, but the woman seemed to be expecting the move and with an agility that Erza was surprised she had, the woman placed both arms around her shoulders, drawing Erza into an embrace.

What happened next was purely magical. A calm like no other spread through Erza. All the pain and heaviness in her heart lifted and it felt as it she could think clearly for the first time. The soreness, the bruises and the scars faded from her skin and she felt happy and content. Was this woman an angel?

She drew away from Erza and smiled.

'There, all better, right?,'

'Yes, but-,'

'No time for buts! Well, actually there's always time for butts, especially if he's feeling kinky and… Gahh! I'm rambling again,'

She looked flusteredly at Erza and said,

'You need to believe in love again. And yes, it's the corniest thing in the world, but you have to find that little speck of hope in your heart and build on that. That's how you escape the nightmare,'

She took Erza's hands in hers.

'Medusa's dreams work by sucking out the happiness from you until what's left is an empty shell. If you can draw hope and warmth from even a single memory, you'll find an opening to beat her,'

'But how? I have no weapons. Medusa makes the rules around here doesn't she?,'

There was a mischievous glint in the woman's eyes.

'No she doesn't. You do. This is your world Erza, your memories. Medusa made you forget that through all the darkness she siphoned in,'

She squeezed Erza's hands.

'Just believe,'

And Erza did believe, and instantly a brilliant white light surrounded her and she found herself clad in her Flame Empress Armor. She could hear sounds from behind her as well. She turned around and saw Jellal and Sweets facing a fallen Medusa, now on the floor and looking frightened. They didn't seem to notice the two woman and Erza figured that what she was seeing was in fact a window into the real world. The snake woman stood up and raised her claws again.

'It's time,' said the woman. She released Erza's hands and stepped back.

'Go kick some Grimoire ass!,'

Erza took her place beside Jellal and raised her sword to ready. She looked back at the woman, and found that the woman was fading away. Another dream perhaps?

'I can't thank you enough,' said Erza 'But, I don't know your name!,'

The woman smiled again, her eyes twinkling.

'It's Daisy. Daisy Sweets,'

…...

Erza focused all her energy into the sword. Daisy's words and magic flowing through her, amplifying her own power. She would never forgive the snake woman for what she had done.

The flames in Jellal's hand grew brighter and brighter. Erza was safe, he knew that in his heart.

_Wait for me, I'm coming for you._

Sweets hefted the sword above his head. One blow would do it, and he would put all his feelings and hopes into this one thrust.

'We are..'

'_As one..'_

'Our power..'

'_Together..'_

'**Unison Raid!,' **shouted the three mages simultaneously as they charged at the snake demon.

Their fires joined and danced, flared and soared. The night sky was illuminated with the brightest light anyone had ever seen. And to the unsuspecting citizens of Kingstown that partied the night away, it was as if nothing had been amiss at all.

**End of Chapter 6! I would've continued, but I've just realized that I've hit the 10 page mark on Microsoft word. So yeah, I think the chapter pretty much speaks for itself. If I have the time, I'll definitely post the follow up for this chapter within the next two to three days.**

**And if you're wondering, yes, I did enjoy writing evil Jellal. And of course I loved episode 59! So much so that I can't decide which side of Jellal I love more! I'll try and highlight his non-crazy side in the next chapter.. haha..**

**Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year people! May all your wishes come true and may the tradition of epic story telling and awesome Fairy Tail plots continue forever!**

**Cheers!**

**Asianpearl**

**P.S. I will kindly accept reviews in place of Christmas presents! Haha..**


	8. Revelations

**CHAPTER 7 : REVELATIONS**

'Welcome back to Sorcerer News! Where we bring you all the latest and the juiciest of celebrity gossip in Fiore! ,'

A perky young, chestnut blonde-haired woman stood behind a glittery news counter that had obviously been decked out for the holidays. In front of her were a stack of papers and several glittering crystal orbs. The young woman flashed her best smile to the magical wireless camera in front of her while tilting her head sideways so that her rhinestone ear rings caught the stage lights and sparkled.

'Hi, I'm Cassie and I'll be filling in for our usual host up till the end of the holiday season. I know most of you are curled up nice and warm right now on your couches, eagerly waiting for today's helping of our beloved stars! And boy, do I have news for you!,'

She proceeded to pick up one of the sheets of paper in front of her.

'Now, over the past few days, many of you have sent worried letters saying that Erza Scarlett has apparently vanished into thin air. We at Sorcerer News however, could not just sit back and let dear Titania remain missing. So, we sent our trusty scouts and spies far and wide digging under every nook and cranny for even the slightest glimpse of the crimson haired mage,'

'And you would not believe where we found the Fairy Tail warrior and whom we saw her with!,'

The large screen behind Cassie flickered to life and an image of Erza, Jellal and Sweets walking down a cobblestone pathway filled the screen. The three subjects of the photo appeared to be engrossed in deep conversation and were not looking at the camera.

'A great big thank you to LyonLover766 for sending in this wonderful picture! This photo was taken just yesterday in the tiny border city of Kingstown, Symphonia, and it appears to us that Erza has found new companions to spend the holiday season with instead of her usual friends at Fairy Tail,'

The screen flickered again and this time, a cute teenage girl was seen handing a flyer to Jellal while Erza had a frown on her face.

'But is Erza only in Symphonia _only_ to celebrate the holidays? We at Sorcerer News do not think so. In fact, we have just identified the two mystery men she has been seen with. One of them is Lance Sweets, rumored rogue agent and former son in law of philanthropist slash councilman Michael Shinra,'

The screen zoomed into the picture and focused on Sweets before panning out onto Erza and finally focusing on Jellal.

'And this man is none other than one of the former Ten Wizard Saints, Jellal Fernandes. Said to be a traitor to the council and dangerous criminal, one has to wonder what Titania could be doing in his company,'

'Erza, if you're listening, this is my message to you : we've all had our bad boy phases and I just hope for your sake that you do the right thing and pick the right guy. I'm sure that there are many single bachelors out there who would give their right arms just for a chance to date you,'

She smiled once again and shuffled the papers in front of her. Picking one up from the stack, she glanced back at the camera.

'Speaking of hot single bachelors, let's have a look at what the rest of the dream team is doing back in Fiore. According to recent reports, Natsu, Gray and Lucy have been poking around Akane Beach, asking questions about the highly publicized Tower of Heaven incident. Word has it that they've been sifting through debris and looking for something amongst a great big pile of nothing,'

Cassie wrinkled her nose.

'Definitely not how I would like to spend my holidays,'

Suddenly, one of the camera crew approached Cassie on set and placed a sheet of paper in her hands, he quickly whispered something in her ear and Cassie's look of bafflement turned into pure mischievousness as an excited grin took form on her features.

'This just in folks! Our people have just spotted Erza, Jellal and Sweets checking into a motel in Kingstown. Eyewitness reports claim that they were seen checking into two separate rooms early this morning and all three of them looked pretty beaten up,'

The screen flashed again and this time the picture showed the three mages hurrying into a small motel, Sweets leading the pack while Jellal and Erza followed behind, his arm around her waist protectively. It was hard to tell from that angle but you could definitely see blotches of red on each of their clothes.

'Thank you once again to LyonLover766 for this fabulous piece of photographic evidence! Any more miracles like this, and we'll need to offer you a permanent position!,'

'Well, well, it looks like the three have been scuffling while the rest of the town were partying the night away. What sort of trouble have these three been up to? What's gonna happen next? Well, we at Sorcerer News will be on high alert for whatever and whenever it happens, and we pray fervently that dear Titania will not fall to the dark side so easily,'

'For more updates, be sure to keep tuning in to Sorcerer News! After the break, we'll reveal why Wendy Marvell may not look as innocent as she may seem!,'

The screen blacked out completely. And from where he sat on the upholstered, mahogany armchair, Ian White pinched the bridge of his nose. Shutting his eyes and groaning in frustration, he murmured,

'This is not good, not good at all, and do you know why it is not good Ultear?,'

She stood slightly away from him, facing the large French windows which graced the room's east wall. White was in fact, a normally level headed person. However, she knew that on the rare occasion that he lost his temper, all hell could break loose. The last time it had happened was when the Tower of Heaven fell to the ground.

'I'll tell you why it's not good,' he continued 'Because we're freakin' loosing!,'

He had risen from his chair and moved to the liquor counter. Pouring himself a glass of whiskey and downing it in one gulp, he then drew in a deep breath and released it slowly.

_Karmic relaxation bullshit. _Thought Ultear. To her, nothing could quell a bad mood faster than blowing something up.

'In any case, Medusa and the Puppetmaster were just pawns,' he swiveled the gold liquid in his newly replaced glass.

'Replaceable,'

Ultear frowned. She found his nonchalance vexing. Important or not, those two were still members of Grimoire Hearts, and therefore, her comrades. More and more, she got the feeling that he was using her to satisfy his own nefarious plans. But then again, wasn't she doing the same thing?

'What does that make me then? Another one of your pawns?,' asked Ultear

White turned around and regarded the woman. Stunning as she was in her short white one sleeved kimono, with her long dark hair pulled up into a ponytail, he had come to realize just how annoyingly perceptive she had become to his mood swings. It seemed that the time they had been spending together plotting and executing their plans were starting to take its toll, and he definitely could not allow that to happen.

'Nah, you're more like a rook. My chariot in battle, my medium through which all our plans bear fruit,'

'A black queen would be more appropriate to my position,' she retorted crossly.

'Well, if anyone's going to be a queen, it's definitely Erza. Yes, it does fit rather nicely, and Jellal would be her white knight, or maybe even her king ;but that would not do at all, since it's a queen's job to protect her king….,'

He drifted off, but not before noticing the vein throbbing at Ultear's forehead. Oh yes, he was very much aware of her jealousy and hatred towards the supposed 'golden couple' , and he was not above using that notion to continuously put Ultear in her place.

'Inform Vinny that I want to commence with the final stage. The device will be ready to activate soon,'

She glared at him with obvious hatred in her eyes. Were they not dependant on each other for their plan to work, he was sure that she would have killed him a long time ago. She nodded stiffly and marched out of the room.

His glass was empty again and as he made a move to refill it, he paused and placed the glass down instead.

'Soon, very soon indeed,'

….

Erza awoke to the sound of the shower running next door. Sitting up in bed, she groaned as her head throbbed with pain. Although she had not been physically wounded during the fight with Medusa, and the usual post-battle soreness and tiredness was absent, her head felt like it had been hit with a truck. The symptoms were not unlike a hangover, she noticed. Closing her burning eyes, laid back down on the bed and wished for a glass of water to magically appear before her. She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the day in bed.

She felt the edge of her bed depressing beside her and she relaxed when she sensed Jellal's familiar aura.

_Wait, Jellal? What was he doing here?_

She panicked mentally.

_Wasn't he supposed to be sharing a room with Sweets? Did he come to check up on her? Did he sleep here? Was that him in the shower just now? Did that mean-?_

Her mental tirade was stopped abruptly as she felt his soft, warm fingers gently brushing the hair out of her face. From there, his hand drifted over to her cheek where it caressed her skin lovingly. Despite herself, she leaned into his touch and opened her eyes to see him.

Which she immediately regretted.

The harsh morning sunlight seemed to want to attack her pupils, causing her to coil inwards and shut her eyes . As her head began to throb again, she felt his warm hand slip beneath her shoulders and coax her to sit up and lean against his chest gently.

She discovered that he was shirtless.

'Take this, it'll help,' he said softly, mindful of her drunken sensitivity to loud noises.

She opened her eyes only slightly to see him holding a tiny green pill aloft inches from her lips, feeling too tired to ask anything further, she parted her lips and blushed as he slipped the pill in, letting his fingers brush her lips intentionally. He then removed his hand to take a glass of water from the bedside table and brought it to her, which she gladly accepted.

Almost instantly, the effects of the pill took hold and she could feel the headache subside. Not unlike the previous night, her mind cleared and more and more details came into focus. Like the fact that they were both on a king sized bed who's covers had been undone on both sides. And the fact that Jellal's hair was still damp, and there was a trail of moisture from the ajar bathroom door to the bed.

_Someone could slip on that. _She thought randomly.

'How are you feeling?,' he asked, his hands running down the sides of her bare arms. Sometime after the battle, she had changed into a sleeveless t-shirt and pajama bottoms.

'I'm fine,' she said shifting a little on the bad so that she could be closer to him

'You know how it is,' she continued 'another fight, another enemy. Same old, same old,'

Jellal did not seem satisfied with the answer. He opened his mouth to retort when suddenly, there was a knock on the door and without waiting for a reply, Sweets opened it and poked his head in.

'Good morning peeps!,' he said happily but stopped short, the smile falling from his face

'Uh, did I come at a bad time?,'

Erza cleared her throat and moved away from Jellal, regretting the immediate loss of his warmth. He got up and retrieved a white tshirt from one of the drawers and Erza watched slip it on out of the corner of her eye before turning back to Sweets.

'No, not at all,' she replied 'How are you feeling, by the way?,'

'Better , thanks,' said Sweets.

He entered the room and deposited the knapsack of files and CD's on the table in the middle of the room. Erza had given those to him the night before.

'I should be asking you the same question,' said Sweets 'Anything we should be worried about?,'

Jellal had retrieved a towel from the bathroom and was now drying his hair. Seriously, after all the evil masterminds , world takeover plots and ancient magic that they've been through, normal was creepy.

'I've got a hangover the size of an elephant, but otherwise I'm fine,' she said, crossing her legs and pulling her hair so that all of it fell to one side of her neck.

'Why does everyone keep asking me that? I've been through worse you know,' if there was one thing Erza could not stand, it was people fussing over her.

'You can never be too careful, not with mind magic especially,' said Jellal while approaching Sweets 'I want you to tell us if you feel anything odd,'

'Like what?,' retorted Erza. These two were seriously getting on her nerves

'Like hearing voices, or seeing things,' said Sweets.

'Her body might be dead, but you can never tell if her spirit were to linger on inside your mind,' said Jellal.

Erza sighed and gave in.

'Alright, alright already. I'll keep an eye out,' she giggled

'What's so funny?,' asked Sweets

'Oh nothing,' replied Erza 'Did you manage to look through the files yet?,'

'Oh yeah,' he said, unzipping the bag and pulling out a thick plastic binder and laying out its contents on the bed in front of Erza.

They were individual profiles. Five of them to be exact, and each one of them about 10 pages long.

'Whoever complied these did an excellent job. We've got medical records, driver's licenses, ability lists and even their credit card records,' said Jellal, flipping through the file marked "Medusa"

In her mind, Erza imagined Laxus grinning broadly and saying 'I told you so!,'

'Based on your description, I've pinpointed the man who attacked you in the forest as Romani Grigis, also known as the Puppetmaster,' said Sweets.

He showed a stack of papers to Erza and she shuddered as she saw the beetle black eyes of the evil man staring back at her through the Polaroid photo on the front page.

'According to the rest of the files, this doesn't appear to involve all the members of Grimoire Hearts, but only a fraction of them. So that's why we don't see names like Zancrow or Hades popping up in these reports,' he continued.

'In fact…,' he said, taking Medusa's and the Puppetmaster's files and laying them to one side 'Two down, three to go,'

He spread out the remaining three folders side by side on the bed.

"Vincenzo Santorini aka Vinny - Bomb Mage"

"Ultear - Time Mage "

"Ian White – Unknown "

'I've seen this man before,' said Erza, picking up Mr White's file 'But I can't remember where,'

Jellal suddenly stiffened but Erza did not seem to notice, Sweets however, decided to mentally catalog the gesture for further reference. He pulled put another file from the knapsack. Laying it down in front of Erza and Jellal, he began to withdraw from it pictures and what appeared to be blueprints of some sort of large factory.

'Let me introduce you to the Beshin Mako reactor. Up till ten years ago, it was Symphonia's largest production plant of artificial lacrima. Only, it was shut down due to unknown reasons. Some people say they were probing aliens in there, other people say they were counterfeiting drugs. Either way, it looks like our friends from Grimoire Hearts have taken up residence there and made it their new HQ. Whatever they're planning, it's definitely going on there,' finished Sweets.

Erza picked up a picture of the reactor. She studied it for awhile.

'It's about two hours drive from here. Looks like we could find our way through without being detected,'

'What a place to battle a bomb mage,' said Jellal 'It's like trying to juggle flaming torches in a room full of dynamite,'

'We'll go tonight, at midnight,' said Erza 'We'll need to hit them while they're least expecting it,'

Sweets nodded.

'Then I suggest we get to work,' he said, picking up Vinny's file 'We've got a lot of studying to do,'

….

Sweets' stomach groaned loudly. It was lunchtime, and he had been elected to go out and find them some lunch. He couldn't even remember the last time he had a proper meal, and now that he thought about it, he considered them lucky to even have rooms to stay in, considering the state they were in when they arrived at the motel last night.

He passed by one of those technological shops which had television sets lined up in the display window. He stopped in his tracks as he saw a picture of Erza on screen. Well, not just Erza, but a picture of her, another blonde and a younger, blue haired girl. They appeared to be posing for some kind of photoshoot. Sweets moved closer to hear the voice of the female reporter,

'….and oftentimes, Wendy has been compared to the likes Natsu, Erza, Lucy and even Gajeel with many people wondering whether the young dragon slayer can live up to the strength of her predecessors or even the obvious beauty and fame of her two "big sisters",'

'This coming from insider reports claiming that the young Sky Dragon Slayer has hardly any offensive attacks and her personality would be best described as 'wallflower','

Well, that was news to Sweets.

'Now enough about Wendy,' said the chestnut blonde haired reporter 'Let's go back to today's main headline : Erza in Symphonia,'

The picture on the screen changed and Sweet's eyes widened as he say a picture of himself, Erza and Jellal entering the very same motel he had just left. By the looks of his shredded shirt, this picture was taken only a couple of hours ago. Immediately he felt conscious of his surroundings, surveying the area for stalkers.

'We all know the story of Jellal Fernandes, the wizard saint gone evil after his lust for power, but what about this mysterious Lance Sweets? What's his story? Well, we're pleased to report that a person who only wishes to be known as FuturePegasus99 has come forward and claims to be an old acquaintance of Mr Sweets,'

'In order to protect his identity and job within the Ministry, we will not reveal his name or face, but he tells us that Lance Sweets is just as bad as Jellal Fernandes. Hold on to your seats folks, because you're gonna hear it right here on Sorcerer News : Lance Sweets was a convicted murderer!,'

Sweets blocked out the sound and continued on his walk. Hands deep in his pockets, he was suddenly overwhelmed by the memories that he had tried to suppress for the longest time.

'… the unfortunate and brutal murder of his wife…,'

_No, it did not happen that way. They've got it wrong._

'.. .. the daughter of the famous Councilman Shinra…,'

_Stop it! Stop it!_

'…. to serve a life sentence..'

Sweets ran as fast as he could, away from the accusations, away from the horrible memories, away from the sounds of their jeering voices and hate filled expressions.

When he finally decided to stop, he found himself on the pier. Standing near its edge, hunger completely forgotten, he sat down, hung his legs over the edge and cupped his face with his hands. Still the memories wouldn't leave him. Still, they haunted him.

'_We, the grand council of the Fiore Ministry of Magic hereby find you, Lance Sweets, guilty of manslaughter. It has been proven without a doubt that on Wednesday, the 15__th__ of July year X782, the accused had ended the life of an innocent woman, Daisy Sweets nee Shinra,'_

Yes, he did kill her, but he never intended to, it was an accident.

_She clasped her hands to his temples, trying her hardest to save him, to work her magic, even though Sweets was already beyond control. His eyes had turned white with flames, his hands were glowing, and he was screaming now, painful, heart-wrenching screams which shattered Daisy's soul._

'_Hang in there Lance, please, don't die on me,' she said, with tears in her eyes._

_They were kneeling on the kitchen floor of his new house. It had been her father's wedding present. She hugged him, cradling his head to her chest like an infant._

'_Please listen to me Lance, stop this! I know you can. Listen to my voice! I know you can!,'_

_It had worked a million times before, she could always bring him back from the darkness. But now, she knew there was no hope, and her only chance of survival was to escape._

_But she couldn't. She couldn't leave him. What if he died, what if, the etherion finally killed him? Once and for all._

_The winds were picking up around them now, glass was shattering, the tables and furniture splintered and cracked. Even the air temperature was rising, and Daisy new she had no chance now. Lance's body was on fire, hot, white flames which didn't hurt her, but they consumed him, he was unrecognizable now, leaps and bounds from the kind, gentle man she had married. He tried to push her away, but she held him to her, still hoping that she could somehow make this all go away._

'_I love you,' she whispered 'I love you, my Lancelot,'_

Sweets shoulders heaved, his body wrecked with heavy sobs. Tears ran freely from his eyes as his heart broke all over again. She hadn't left him, even when she knew he could kill them both.

'I love you, I will always love you Daisy,' he whispered.

….

'There's something I haven't told you,' said Erza, while she ran a comb through her hair 'Something that happened in the nightmare,'

'Hmm?,' answered Jellal, looking up from Vinny's file.

'I met this woman...she told me her name was Daisy Sweets, and… she saved me… from the darkness,'

She paused, waiting for Jellal's reaction.

'Maybe your subconscious conjured her up?,' he said, after a while.

'You might've seen her face in a newspaper article somewhere, and your mind filled in the blanks, using her face to create the image of a protector, an angel in times of great despair,'

'That does make sense,' said Erza. She set the comb down and turned to face Jellal. 'It just, well, it seemed so real,'

'It's a despicable power really, turning your own memories against you and making real your worst nightmare,' he said.

Erza didn't reply, but she bit her lip and looked like she was on the verge of asking him something.

'Take off your shirt, it's time we changed your bandages anyway,'

She got up and busied herself with the first aid kit which sat beside her vanity chest. Although his wounds had not been severe, the slashes on Jellal's back had apparently been infused with Medusa's poison, preventing them from sealing completely. It was a good thing that Erza always came prepared.

He sat himself on the bed and Erza knelt behind him, undoing the old bandages near his shoulder blades. It was upon his insistence that they did not seek professional medical care. Something about being recognized.

'I seem to be recalling a lot of people whom I don't recognize. First Daisy, and now this Mr White. You'd think I'm the one with amnesia,'

'Way to be subtle Erza,' he quipped. 'It's almost all back now, and sometimes, I wish I could just stop remembering all those things I did,'

She didn't reply to that, but instead smoothed a thick gel like concoction over his skin, before tying fresh bandages over the wound. She paused her ministrations and placed her palms on the undamaged skin of his back, suddenly feeling pensive. She then coiled her arms around his middle and rested her head against the undamaged skin of his back, letting her eyes drift shut.

'Erza?,' asked Jellal , bewildered 'What are you doing?,'

'Resting,' she said, 'Your back was so nice and broad and so.. let's just stay like this for awhile,'

He laughed lightly, the sound reverberating through his body. Erza thought it was a pleasant sound indeed.

'You used to give me piggy back rides back in the tower, remember?,' she mumbled

Jellal's eyes softened as he recalled the fond memory.

'Yeah, I do,'

They were silent for several long moments, Jellal trying to be as still as possible while Erza's fingers occasionally drifted along the lines of his abs and stomach. He didn't mind though. It was comforting, it was intimate, and he couldn't deny that he wanted her to touch him.

'They were memories, you said so yourself,' she whispered.

'Huh?,' he said, confused.

'My visions in Medusa's nightmare were all depraved, twisted memories,'

She untangled herself from Jellal and he turned around to face her.

'Where are you going with this?,' he asked, she was shaking now

'There was a bedroom.. a hotel room, I'm sure of it… all white everywhere, and… and… rose petals, there were red rose petals scattered all over the place,'

She looked straight at him now, and there were tears brimming the corners of her eyes.

'A couple of months ago, even before the Tower of Heaven incident, I woke up in that hotel room, alone and naked with no memory of what happened to me,' she said, her voice cracking.

He was silent. Ashamed. Why did this have to happen now? Right when they were just beginning to trust each other.

'But you do , don't you? You know what happened, you were there weren't you?,'

He looked away. How could he find the words to explain it to her? She wasn't likely to accept any explanation he had in the state she was in.

'DAMMIT! Answer me Jellal!,' she screamed, tears were flowing now. He cursed himself for making her cry again.

'I.. you.. we.. we did it, didn't we?,'

He nodded. Not trusting himself to speak at the moment.

'Oh god,' she mumbled, covering her mouth with her hand and got up from the bed, moving away from him. The worst was yet to come.

'You bastard! For months I was assuming the worst. I thought I had been raped for god's sake! You cannot imagine how I felt, how scared I was that morning. What if I had been pregnant? Would you be happy to sacrifice two souls to Zeref instead of one?,'

'I erased your memory for your own good!,' he snapped, getting up from the bed and gripping Erza by her shoulders.

'I do not regret that night, in fact, I cherish it. It was you who was unprepared to deal with those emotions. How would you feel if you knew we slept together and after a few days, you had to face me in the Tower? I would not have you going into battle with half hearted emotions, with more confusion and heartache on your shoulders. You would've never made it past Ikagura if you had,'

'It would be easy to say that I was possessed, that Zeref forced me to seduce you and then betray you like I had. But that isn't the truth. The truth is that I wanted you, I needed you so badly that I was willing to selfishly bind you to me in any way I knew how,'

It was Erza's turn to be silent. The occasional tear ran down her cheek. He brought his hand up to tug at her chin gently.

'Look at me, Erza,'

And she did, with those watery eyes that only seemed to show themselves around him.

'This is me, this is the type of man that I am, and forever will be,'

He took one of her hand and placed it on his chest, directly over his heart. It was thundering, just like hers.

'This heart beats only for you, and the only thing I fear, more than anything in the world, is that one day, you'll leave me and go to a place where I can't follow you,'

He pulled her into an embrace, trapping her hand between them, between their hearts.

'I love you, Erza,'

And she cried afresh, and all he could do was stroke her back gently.

All she wanted to do was to say those words back to him. All her life, she had imagined this scene, in many ways, in many places. And she imagined how she would say them back, she would run into his arms, kiss him and laugh happily as they said those words to each other all day and all night long.

But she couldn't. Not now, just, not now.

All Jellal could do was hold her gently. She hadn't replied his words, but she hadn't pushed him away, and all he could hope for was that she felt the same as he.

**End of chapter 7! Happy New Year people!**

**Okay, first and foremost, to all the Wendy fans out there, so sorry for her character bashing. I don't hate her or anything, it's just that I think the press would eat her alive.**

**The news bits in the introduction and middle were actually inspired by Gulliana Rancic of E! News, haha.. I just wanted a fresh point of view to tell the story, and how the public might react to Erza's sudden disappearance from Fairy Tail. **

**Do you think I went a little overboard with Erza's reaction in the end? I mean, I thought I was a wee bit too harsh. But it makes for a great conflict doesn't it? : ) **

**Do tell me what you think, I'd appreciate it.**

**Cheers!**

**Asianpearl **


	9. The Soldier Part I

**CHAPTER 9 : THE SOLDIER **

**PART I**

An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.  
**Mahatma Gandhi**

Erza had seen her fair share of covert undercover missions. In fact, before the formation of 'Team Natsu', those were the kind of missions she enjoyed most. All those cloak and dagger moments, sneaking into tightly guarded restricted areas under the cover of moonlight, knocking out unsuspecting guards with precisely placed blows; all those thrilled her and she found herself anxious in anticipation for tonight's soiree.

She herself had dressed accordingly to the mission. Thinking that her heavy armor would be more likely to hinder her movements, she opted for a simpler getup. She wore a black and blue tight fitting two piece spy suit with high combat boots. At her waist hung a utility belt with several daggers, communicators and other espionage paraphernalia. Her fiery hair was tied up into a high ponytail and she had stuck a small wireless communication device in her right ear , in the unlikely circumstance that they would be separated later.

It was past midnight now, 00:23 to be exact, and Sweet's jeep slowed to a halt as it approached the abandoned energy reactor. The plant was a monumental structure that had obviously seen better days. It sat in a valley of sorts, bordered in three of its four sides by jagged limestone cliffs. The reactor complex itself was made up of many separate buildings, three large factorial towers which stood shoulder to shoulder, and several smaller, less imposing structures bordering the three buildings. The entire complex was shrouded in darkness; most of the structures were crumbling with age and dilapidation, and to add to the eeriness, tendrils of fog coiled their way through the night, reminiscing of industrial ages long gone.

Erza supposed that in its heyday, Beshin Mako Reactor would've been a lively, bustling place; but as Sweets parked in the shade of a large overhanging tree, and they disembarked to the cryptic silence of the night, Erza felt a sudden chill creep its way to her bones. For the past few hours, the car ride had passed in silence, each of them dwelling within their own jumbled thoughts.

They approached the gates of the reactor, the earth crunching beneath their feet. Somewhere in the distance, a dog started barking, sending them into high alert as they stiffened and scanned the area, afraid of being spotted. They had met no resistance so far, which was discontenting. Surely, something of this scale would warrant more security? Apart from the three of them, not another human soul was in sight, and as they came across the gates, the trio found them wide open, beckoning them into the unknown.

Erza looked at her two companions, gauging their reactions. If this was going to be the final battle, they were going to give it their all. She received a reassuring nod from Sweets when suddenly, Jellal took hold of her wrist and brought her attention to him.

'Erza, before we do this, I need to tell you something,' he started

Sweets looked between the two of them, moving away slightly with a knowing smirk on his face.

'I'll look around for security cameras. Don't take too long you guys,'

Erza looked on as Sweets jogged away, the wind buffeting the loose strands of her hair which had come loose from her ponytail. On instinct, he tucked one of the strands behind her ear with a gloved hand. His outfit tonight consisted of a fitted sleeveless shirt, black cargo pants and gloves similar to the battle of the tower of heaven.

'I just-,'

'I'm sorry Jellal,' said Erza , cutting him off.

She just had to say this before it was too late. Afraid that like the last time and the many times before that, there would just never be another chance to tell him how she felt; and they would be pulled apart. Again.

'I'm sorry I exploded back in the hotel room. I was, well, emotional. I know that you've got your own reasons for whatever you do and that you were just protecting me.. as always..,'

'But-,'

'I've asked myself this a hundred times, doubted myself, heck I even think I've driven myself mad a few times over this. But now I know. I know why I'm fighting tonight. I know why I've been fighting all this while,'

She looked into his eyes.

'I want to protect this,' she took his hands in hers, threaded her fingers through his

'I'll fight for us, so that we can face the future together. No matter what it brings, or whatever challenges we face, as long as I'm by your side, I… I….-,'

The words just died on her tongue. Odd, hadn't she practiced this speech a million times in her head? He was smiling softly now, with that look in his eyes, so soft, so loving. Warmth blossomed in her chest.

And he bent down to kiss her, and the warmth surged through her entire being, filling her with strength, an energy, a power unlike anything she had ever felt before. Her heart thumped madly in her chest and a single tear of utter joy rolled down her cheek. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her tighter, closer to him, and nothing else seemed to matter.

_Is this how it feels? To be in love?_

He pulled away, smiling. Using a thumb, he wiped away the trail of the stray tear. He vowed then and there, that Erza would never have to cry because of him again. He would protect her with his life.

'I want to be by your side as well,' he replied 'No matter how long it takes, I'll find a way,'

There was the sound of someone –a very annoyed someone- clearing his throat. Sweets had now returned, and was fixing his communicator ear bud into his ear.

'Seriously guys, couldn't you have done this at the hotel room? Jeez... Talk about romantic clichés,'

Jellal winked at Erza

'Looks like somebody's feeling left out,'

Sweets' eyes widened and he backed off, raising his hands in a surrendering motion in front of him.

'Oh no, this agent doesn't do group hugs, or group cheers or anything lovey dovey for that matter,'

He turned around and made his way past the gates into the reactor complex, turning around and grinning.

'Hurry up, or you're going to miss out on all the fun,'

….

_The shadowy creature crawled its way up the reactor's exterior wall, its antennae tingling as it felt the surge of emotion coming from the woman's heart. As the trio made their way into the complex, its beady yellow eyes zoomed in onto the single woman in the group, the redhead. It hissed in delight as it faded into the darkness. Three more victims, three more hearts._

….

After circling the exterior wall of the main factory building for a few minutes, they found an unlocked door in a concealed segment of the wall. Upon entering, they found themselves in the bowels of the old abandoned factory. It was dank and desolate, save for the few flickering sources of illumination, neon lamps that had been left there.

_Were they expecting us? _Thought Jellal

The room was large and circular, spreading upwards until its roof, about seven to eight stories above them. In the center of the room was a giant metal cylinder surrounded by layers upon layers of copper piping. A long metal walkway spread out from under their feet, upwards, downwards, left and right to produce a criss-crossing maze through all the machinery and mechanics.

Sweets resisted the urge to run his hands long his arms as cold shivers suddenly ran down his spine. He was never the one to believe in ghosts, however, the factory definitely had a sinister, almost evil aura about it.

They made their way upwards, their footsteps sounding dull thunks on the metal walkway. They tried to make as little noise as possible, but again, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Upon reaching the fifth level, they came across a suspension bridge of sorts, which crossed over from the current building to the next. Halfway across, Jellal saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He froze and lunged out instantly, sending a fireball at the factory wall.

'Where is it?,' asked Sweets urgently, drawing his sword 'Did you see something?,'

But to Jellal's bewilderment, there were only scorch marks on the wall. He could've sworn he saw it, a dark, shadowy _something that_ had darted across the exterior wall nearly fifty feet off the ground. The moonlight cast many eerie shadows in the dimply lit reactor complex. But Jellal knew this was something else, something more solid, darker than a shadow.

_Or was his mind playing tricks on him?_

Calling it a false alarm, they trekked forward, albeit with more caution then they had started out with. Upon entering the second building, they found themselves on a large, circular platform overlooking the factory. There were conveyor belts and cranes in this building. So many, that Erza voiced out that this had to be the assembly line for the finished product. They examined the equipment, looking for any indicators, clues, that might shed light on Grimoire Heart's operation.

Suddenly, Erza let out a yelp of pain as she drew her hand sharply away from the contraption she had been examining.

'I'm fine,' she said to the two men. 'It's this generator, its hot. Meaning, it's been used recently,'

'How right you are,' came a deep voice from the darkness.

The three of them spun around instantly, weapons raised, trying to locate the source of the echoing voice.

And finally, out from the darkness, on a ledge several floors above them, Col. Vinny appeared, his face set in a grim expression, his hands clasped behind his back.

'You're too late children,' he said 'White has already ordered the device to be shipped out to the launch site,'

'I imagine if you arrived several hours ago, you would've had the chance to stop him,' he continued

'Then where is it now?' yelled Jellal. 'Or do we have to force an answer out of you?,'

Vinny let out a low chuckle

'Ah, the energy of youth... How I miss it. But still, I would've expected you of all people to know the place Jellal m'boy. It was you, after all, who suggested we use that site,'

His eyes widened in horror, mentally cursing himself for not being able to recall those memories. Truthfully, he still had no recollection of the device or what it was capable of.

'How about this?,' said Erza 'You tell us where the device is, and we'll leave you and your goons alone,'

'Yeah... you seem like a nice guy, wouldn't want to hurt you now would we, old man?' added Sweets.

'There are no… ah, how do you say... henchmen here now. Just me,' said the man peacefully.

'But I believe it is you children who ought to be afraid. For I have the capacity to end your lives with a single click of my fingers,'

The was a tense moment of silence.

'He told you to kill us, didn't he?' said Erza

'White asked you... to tie up all the loose ends. Am I right?' she said

He stepped forward towards the edge. Scrutinizing Erza he said,

'No, I volunteered actually. After seeing what that device is capable of, I think, I have no desire to see what it would do to the world. At dawn, I shall destroy the factory. I shall make sure that the world can never create such an abomination again. Whether you children are here or not, is really none of my concern,'

'Do you not care what this thing can do to the world?' said Sweets 'If it's as bad as you say it is, then help us destroy it. Tell us where it is,'

Vinny's face hardened

'It is against my mistress's orders to speak of this. And I am a loyal servant of Mistress Ultear until the very end,'

He began to walk away.

'But I am not an evil man,' he said 'Find me before dawn, young ones. Find me and stop me, and perhaps, I will help you,'

He paused

'Oh, and, beware of the darkness. You never know what lies within it,'

He snapped his fingers, and instantly, the platform they were standing on began to shudder. A series of explosions ensued, and the trio screamed as the floor beneath their feet crumbled and they were plunged into darkness once more.

….

Erza grunted in pain as she forced herself up onto her knees and elbows. She felt bits of rubble shifting around her as she slowly worked herself into a kneeling position. Turning on a flashlight attached to her utility belt, she scanned the darkness, trying to see if her companions were anywhere near her and if she could spot an exit.

The earpiece in her ear buzzed with static for a moment and in the next, she could hear Sweet's voice through the gadget.

'_Erza?, Jellal? You guys alright? Where are you?,'_

'I'm fine,' she replied, standing up and picking her way through the rubble. But I can't see Jellal anywhere

There were several shuffling noises over the earpiece and some grunting when..

'_I see him!,'_ said Sweets _'Don't worry Erza, he's with me,'_

'_Lucky me,' _came Jellal's sarcastic reply.

Erza made her way along the chaos, trying to locate the two men when her path was hindered by a massive wall of debris. Cement, rocks, and twisted fragments of metal jutted out from the dangerous precipice and Erza saw no way of manually shifting the mass. Using the Lance of Haja would be even more dangerous. She could not risk bringing the whole factory down before they could find Vinny.

'There's a lot of rubble in my way,' said Erza 'I can't reach you guys,'

'_Same here,'_ said Jellal.

'_So, what do we do now?,'_ asked Sweets.

'We split up,' said Erza, although she felt uneasy about it.

'You guys go one way, and I'll go the other. We need to locate the colonel,'

'_But-,'_ started Jellal,

'_No buts,'_ said Sweets _'though there's always time for butts, especially if-,'_

He cut himself off, and Erza sniggered, remembering that Daisy rambled on about the same thing in her dream.

'_She's right. We can't afford to waste any more time,' _said Sweets

'And besides, we'll be in touch using the communicators,' said Erza, attempting to reassure the man.

But Jellal was adamant that she didn't go alone, and the next thing she knew,there was a gust of wind and she saw Jellal's big grey wind wolf standing beside her. The wolf nuzzled her hand and she fondled its fur pelt lovingly. She told Jellal that he was being silly for thinking that she couldn't defend herself. However, as they parted ways and the large animal fell into step beside her, she couldn't help but feeling slightly relaxed at having it by her side.

….

The two men walked their way through the complex, looking through every room, taking detours whenever they saw their path blocked and clearing their way through the bricks, boxes and machinery that littered the floor. Sweet's theory was that Vinny had to be in some kind of central generator room in the factory, where the explosion could cause the most damage. And it was in that general direction that were headed. The darkness of the night was illuminated not only by the large full moon outside the window, but also by Sweet's fiery sword, which, glowed warmly, lighting their path for them.

'So, it's a sword and a flashlight all in one?' asked Jellal lightly 'Nifty,'

They took a sharp right turn, and were now ascending a flight of stairs which, hopefully, would lead them to the central chambers of the plant.

'Daisy made it for me,' Sweets replied. 'That was her power. She was a weapons mage know, she could create weapons using magic. Any weapon at all. Guns, swords, bombs … ,'

Jellal remained silent, letting Sweets continue.

'She worked for the council, in the Military and Weapons division. And that's how we met. I was the agent, going on his first mission, and she was the lab tech who made my first weapon' he smiled sadly, recalling a fond memory

'After she died, I ask myself each day if she knew how much I loved her. I just couldn't forgive myself. I was supposed to protect her, I was supposed to be her knight in shining armor, but I failed her,'

Sweets had stopped, and a few paces in front of him, Jellal turned to look at him.

'She was my everything,' he whispered, his eyes downcast, reflecting the shadow of the past.

More than anything, Jellal understood. He knew how it felt like to lose the one person in the world who believed in you. To think that he didn't deserve her, although he knew she was the only one who could see the light in his heart; to want her so badly although he knew that the only thing capable of hurting her the most was himself. More than once, he had watched her suffering, crying in pain, and he was ashamed to admit, that more than once, it was because of him.

'But I will live on,' said Sweets, hope glimmering in his eyes. 'Because she wanted me to, because she was willing to sacrifice her life for me,'

'And that's why..,' he said, coming up to Jellal and clasping Jellal's shoulder with his free hand

'..Don't you dare screw things up with Erza. The two of you were made for each other. Any fool could see that,'

A smile formed on Jellal's face, and Sweets mirrored it, and Jellal felt like he had met a kindred soul.

'I won't,'

There was a scuffling sound behind them and the loud metallic 'clang' of something falling to the ground. Both men turned around and Sweets pointed the beam of light to the line of machinery behind them, and in the next instant, a steel pipe about fifteen inches long rolled out –seemingly on its own accord- towards them.

'Maybe it was just rats?' said Sweets, trying to convince himself more than he was Jellal.

But there was something wrong with the shadows. It was probably the play of light from Sweet's blade, or maybe even a trick of light, but as Jellal advanced cautiously towards the rusted contraptions, he swore that the shadows got thicker and more menacing.

'What was it that Vinny said? Be careful of the darkness?' asked Jellal.

And as he watched, the shadows seem to disappear and drain out from under the machines, coiling up against the wall in a ball before slithering onto the floor in front of them. From out of the pool of shadows, there came a face, arms, torso and legs. And as the creature materialized out of the shadows, Jellal and Sweets stepped back in horror, preparing themselves for battle.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	10. The Soldier Part II

And as he watched, the shadows seem to disappear and drain out from under the machines, coiling up against the wall in a ball before slithering onto the floor in front of them. From out of the pool of shadows, there came a face, arms, torso and legs. And as the creature materialized out of the shadows, Jellal and Sweets stepped back in horror, preparing themselves for battle.

**CHAPTER 10 : THE SOLDIER**

**PART II**

It was nothing like anything they've ever seen before. A small, rounded head was topped by two long antenna like projections. Its thin, wiry body seemed to twitch with every movement, giving it a very insect like quality. In all its ghastly appearance, its face only consisted of two beady yellow, pupil-less eyes, no nose, no mouth, not even eyelids. The creature's hands and feet ended with sharp claws, and its entire body was an inky black in color, as if it was the physical manifestation of the shadows themselves.

The hallway they stood in was about ten feet across and poorly lit. To make matters worse, it was cluttered with junk, old machinery and other indescribable objects; conditions hardly befitting a battle.

The creature lunged at them, its claws clicking against the flooring. It swung its hands backwards, taking aim at Sweets. The agent only had just enough time to cross his fire sword in front of him, shielding himself from the creature's attack. With surprising strength, the creature began to push Sweets backwards, its clawed hand against the agent's sword.

Upon seeing this, Jellal summoned a ball of energy into the palm of his hand; taking aim, he sent it flying towards the preoccupied creature.

However, as if sensing the oncoming projectile, the creature turned its head towards Jellal and instantly leapt away from Sweets, vaulting itself onto the ceiling, suspending itself from the multitude of pipes which ran along its surface.

Sweets' sword set itself on fire as if absorbing the energy from Jellal's energy blast. With that energy, Sweets swung his sword in an arc and sent a circular wave of flames upwards towards the pipes, this time, managing to hit the creature head on.

The creature dropped face down onto the floor between Jellal and Sweets, incapacitated from the blow, but still conscious. With a final blast of energy from Jellal, the creature disintegrated into a puff of smoke, leaving behind not a trace of its existence.

'What the hell was that thing?' asked Sweets 'Some kind of demon?'

Before Jellal could answer, the sound of dark, malicious laughter emanated from the darkness and no sooner had they seen the many pairs of ghostly yellow eyes materializing in the black depths, more black creatures sprung towards them.

Sweets was prepared this time, slicing through one of their opponents with a quick upstroke of his sword. Dodging the next set of claws with a tumble to the right, he stabbed the sword into the belly of another oncoming creature.

Jellal sent blast after blast of magic towards the attackers, quickly losing count of how many he had struck down. But, no matter how many fell, it seemed that many more would take their place. Suddenly, one of the black creatures latched onto his right arm, and another one on his left. He felt the weight of another creature on his back, and the combined force of the three creatures sent him down onto one knee.

He gritted his teeth and focused his energy as a golden magic circle formed beneath his feet. One after another, bright, golden orbs of magic appeared above the battle field in the form of a constellation. Heavenly magic crackled and surged between them.

'Grand Chariot!' he yelled, feeling the surge of magic around him. Instantly, the weight lifted off his back. Pleased that he was not affected much by the spell, he stood up to assess the damage.

All the dark creatures had been vanquished, the ground and the surrounding items scorched from their battle. From a corner, Sweets groaned and picked himself up. Apparently, he had been thrown off his feet from the blast.

'Fernandes, You WILL warn me the next time you do something like that,' he said, crossly.

Jellal only smirked as he moved towards Sweets, offering a hand to help the agent stand. However, the man ignored it, and winced slightly as he straightened up.

'Let's move,' said Jellal 'Before those _things_ return,'

Sweets nodded, picking up his sword and hurried after Jellal, the uneasiness filling his stomach again.

'Hey, Jellal,' he said, 'you feel that don't you? Like someone's-'

'Watching us,' finished Jellal 'I know,'

And they pressed forward, senses on high alert, trekking further and further into the darkness.

…

'How many bloody rooms can there be in a single factory?' Erza grumbled to herself.

Erza and the wolf exited another large factory room, this time, filled with stacks upon stacks of files and folders, yet again unsuccessful at locating the colonel.

Beside her, the grey wolf let out a snort as if agreeing with her. The animal was very tame; following Erza's every movement carefully, constantly keeping watch over her. A touch of fondness filled her heart when she realized that it was Jellal's desire to keep her safe that was probably flowing through the wolf's being right now.

She craned her neck upwards to look at the floors above her. She had been searching for little above an hour, and she still had three floors to go; and then, there was the building next door and the other small buildings around the factory. If those places did not yield the colonel, they might need to search the grounds of the reactor.

Her heart sunk slightly as the prospects of finding him before dawn became slimmer and slimmer. What if they couldn't find him? What then? Would they have to give up on the mission? What other leads did they have? Who else could they turn to?

What if they got caught in the explosion? What if one of them ended up dead? What if no one knew where they were and no one came to find them? What if Grimoire Heart and White managed to succeed in whatever they were doing? What would become of the world then?

Erza placed her hands on the rusted metal railing on either side of the walkway, taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

_Think, Erza, think! _She chided herself.

There had to be a faster way to search. There just had to. So much was at stake right now, so much was hanging in the balance, and they just did not have time to play hide and seek with arsonists.

Something seemed to have caught the wolf's attention, for it suddenly peered into the darkness beyond the both of them and started growling.

'What is it girl?,' asked Erza, approaching the animal, 'What do you see?'

She let out a horrified gasp as she finally saw what the wolf was growling at. The light from her utility belt illuminated the frightening yellow eyes of an unearthly black creature with long antennae protruding from the back of its head. It was about a foot shorter than her, its limbs twitching this way and that; and from the way its head slowly turned towards Erza, it appeared to be studying her.

The creature took one step towards them when suddenly the wolf started howling and barking at it. Immediately, the black figure recoiled and –to Erza's amazement- melted into a puddle of shadows on the floor.

It fled, the puddle of shadows slithering across the floor ahead of them, and Erza was somewhat relieved that the creature was gone. However, the wolf would not be deterred. It took off after the shadow on the ground, giving chase in the impenetrable darkness.

'Wait!,' Erza yelled, although she knew it was near useless. What were the chances of that happening?

But she would not relent. Taking in quick breaths of air, she sprinted after the wolf. Up two flights of stairs, down the hall, through a series of corridors, left, right, right, and left again until her mind could not keep up and she decided that she would worry about backtracking later. Her legs felt like giving out, her lungs were on fire, and then finally, she saw it.

The wolf was standing in front of a massive set of metal double doors. Currently closed, they bore the royal Symphonia seal as well as the universal symbol for danger: a skull and crossbones. The black shadow creature appeared to have disappeared, but the wolf still stood ramrod straight in front of the doors, growling lightly.

Deciding she might as well check it out, Erza approached the doors. Stopping to pat the head of the wolf, she whispered,

'Shh.., down girl,'

And Erza heaved all her strength into opening the large door. With a mighty creak, whine, and groan, the rusted old hinges swung open.

The room beyond the door was large and circular. Nearly a hundred feet across with a raised platform in the centre, it looked more like some kind of ceremonial chamber than a laboratory. However, as Erza paced through the room slowly, taking note of the stacks of books, papers, equipment and electronics lying haphazardly around, she concluded it was the latter. Unlike the rest of the factory, the room was abnormally well lit. Strings of light bulbs cris-crossed overhead, adding to the glare of the multitude of fluorescent lights and spotlights

_To keep the shadows out._ Erza concluded.

She approached the platform in the middle of the room. From the moment she had entered the room, her eyes had been drawn to the object sitting silently on the raised dais. Two large metal columns stood about five feet apart from each other, and between them, several thin metal spires extended from the pillars, curving into a circular frame before meeting each other at the centre. It looked like a tall mirror, only without the glass in the centre.

She reached for her earpiece, tapping it lightly, she spoke

'Guys? I think I've found something. Can you come and find me?,'

There was only the sound of static at the other end of the line.

'Hello? Jellal? Sweets?'

She told herself to calm down; probably the connection was bad, or their devices might have dropped out during a fight or something.

There was the sound of scraping behind her. She turned and saw that the wolf was pawing at some papers on the floor. As Erza knelt down and began to look through them, she noticed that the documents were quite old, Most of them written in a script she couldn't recognize. Many of the letters, however, were written on custom stationery. On the top of each page were the words "National Armed Forces of Fiore". She laid those papers down and then started picking up several strewn photographs. They were pictures of soldiers, all of them men, generally in their late teens.

'They were my comrades, all of them,' came a familiar voice from behind her.

Erza wheeled around in shock, equipping her sword and pointed it at his chest. She wondered how he had managed to sneak up on her like that. He stood at a considerable distance from her. His stance relaxed with his hands in his pockets. The brightness of the room brought out the weariness in his appearance, the shadows under his eyes, and the gauntness of his face.

'Go find the men,' Erza said to the wolf. 'Bring them here,'

The wolf hissed and pawed the ground beside her, somewhat reluctant to leave. But Erza gave it a stern look and it disappeared in a gust of wind. She prayed that it would not take too long to find them.

He heaved a sigh and brought his hands out of his pockets, displaying them in a placating gesture.

'I told you, I don't mean any harm,'

'I find that hard to believe,' said Erza, narrowing her eyes.

'You and your allies have caused a lot of harm and are planning to bring upon even more evil to the world,' she continued 'It would be best to admit what you know and be prepared to face justice,'

He paced towards her, slowly, carefully.

'Justice... Like the type you wish for your lover, Jellal?' he paused 'That is the main reason you're doing this, am I right?'

Obviously he was trying to stall.

'He is not my lover,' though a slight blush stained her cheeks as she said those words 'but yes, every man deserves justice,'

'But you're not answering my question,' he repeated 'Do you truly understand why you've embarked on this quest? Do you know what you truly want?'

At her silence, he smirked, realizing that he had gained the upper hand.

'I first met Jellal during the months leading up to the completion of the tower ; and even then, he fully understood what he desired, what he was sacrificing in order to obtain his dream,' he said calmly.

'He was possessed!' she yelled 'His mind was addled! How can you say he truly wanted all that death and destruction? Those desires were the wishes of a manipulative hag and an evil guild who did not mind toying with the lives of countless innocents to obtain power!'

There was a pause for a moment.

'If you're so sure about that, then why are you getting so worked up? Perhaps... you aren't so sure. Perhaps you are still deceiving yourself, and cannot accept the reality that the Jellal who attempted to sacrifice you to Zeref and the Jellal who saved your life from my fallen friends are, in fact, the same man,'

He chuckled as he noticed Erza's deepening frown.

'You are afraid,' he stated 'Of what has happened, of what is happening now and what will happen in the future. And that fear makes you weak,'

He said it with a great deal of cynicism in his voice and it only fueled her rage.

'My feelings have no relevance to the mission,' she said 'Let me make myself clear; you will tell us where the device is, and what it's capable of. I've played your little game, found your hideout, so now it's time for you to come clean. Or else,'

He smiled bitterly, and instead picked up one the scattered photos.

'Children these days, they fight for nothing. All running around like robots, doing mission after mission, fight after fight… All this treachery, all this heartache, and for what?'

There was a sadness in his eyes that Erza could not understand. It was not a trick of light as she had assumed earlier, but as he turned the photos over in his hands, she could not help but feel sorry for the old colonel. What had those eyes seen?

The doors to the room burst open, and Jellal and Sweets rushed into the room. They were both panting, having run the distance, but Erza also noted the presence of several scorch marks and tears on the outfits of the men.

'Bravo! ' said Vinny sarcastically 'The mighty heroes have shown themselves. Here to finish off the bad guy and save the world I assume?'

'That _is_ what you want us to do right?' said Sweets. 'Because of White and Ultear are planning?'

Vinny frowned, taking a deep breath, he turned his gaze skyward _'Forgive me, mistress Ultear'_

'It pains me to tell you this. For I believe no one is capable of stopping White once the device is up and running. In fact, it would be best if you forget this matter and return to your homes before it is too late,'

'We've come this far Vinny, we're not about to give up now,' said Jellal.

The colonel studied Jellal for a moment longer. Finally, he nodded towards the contraption on the dais.

'That thing right there, is the device, more accurately, a prototype of the device. As I mentioned earlier, the real one is at the site already,'

'What's it for?' asked Jellal

'Judging from your appearance, I'll assume that you've already had a run in with those nasty black things,'

The trio exchanged looks before Erza said 'Yeah, we did,'

'They're called Heartless, creatures born out of the darkness of the human heart. Their ultimate purpose is to infect this world by consuming the hearts of people and by doing so, plunging this world into darkness,'

'They… eat… hearts?' asked Sweets, bewildered

'Not in a cannibalistic way,' said Jellal, 'I remember now, they are born from darkness, and in essence, will drain a person of their soul, their life, until what is left is a mere shadow, a husk of their former self; a heartless,'

'And that machine over there is how White brought those creatures into our world. That device is capable of opening the corridors of darkness, allowing him to summon those creatures into this world,' continued the Colonel.

'But why?' asked Sweets

'Power,' said Jellal 'Human hearts and souls contain massive amounts of power; even those which cannot use magic normally. He wants power,'

'And he's willing to kill thousands in order to obtain it,' finished the Colonel, looking down in shame.

A moment of silence descended on the group as the true horror of the situation finally set in.

'Where is it colonel?' asked Erza 'Where is the launch site?'

But before he could answer, an explosion tore through the roof above them. They immediately took cover and shielded themselves against the falling debris, Jellal covering Erza with his body. When the noise finally stopped, they stood up amongst a great cloud of smoke and rubble. Many of the lights had gone out, leaving only the four spotlights at their corners of the room. And Erza gasped in shock at the sight before her.

A herculean heartless stood outside the factory. From its enormous size, only its torso and abdomen could be seed from their vantage point. However, it looked very different from the heartless she had encountered earlier. This one appeared to be more muscular in stature, its arms were large and powerful, its face , although bearing the same featureless, haunting yellow eyes, was coiled in tendrils of dark, inky hair which sprouted from the top if its head.

'It really is hard to find good quality help these days' came an airy, accented voice.

Jellal's eyes widened as a thought projection of Mr. White appeared in front of the massive heartless. Still in his all white outfit and with his blonde hair slicked back, he looked for all the world like a mafia boss, lazily barking out commands while his minions did all the dirty work for him.

'You bastard!' yelled Erza 'What do you think you're doing?'

He smirked and regarded her loftily

'Ah, you do remember me? Excellent. Although, I must say, Blue over there did quite a number on you didn't he?' he snorted 'And I'm not just talking about the memory spell,'

'We will come for you' said Sweets, a warning glare in his eyes 'You are so done for!'

'Please, you council nitwits are capable of nothing. Just look at how easily my dear Ultear managed to tear you people apart,' he replied.

Sweets took a step forwards, drawing his blade, although he knew he could not damage the image of Mr White.

'But regardless,' continued Mr White 'this game has gone on far enough. I simply cannot allow you to live any longer. Wouldn't want you to ruin my plans now would we?'

'Enough is enough White!' shouted Vinny 'This is way over your head and you know it. Come to your senses boy!'

'On second thought, I will start with you,' he gave Vinny a foul look, 'Let's start with the man who thinks he can just drop everything and become an instant hero,'

The heartless let out an earth shattering roar behind them.

'But you will all perish in the end,' he said in a low voice. 'I bid you farewell my friends,'

He began to flicker away. But then he let out a laugh.

'Oh, and Jellal ol' chap? I lied; I honestly cannot stand redheads,'

As soon as he disappeared, he heartless went crazy. It smashed the walls of the building with its massive hands, making the ground tremble beneath their feet, and it also began to roar, making their ears buzz.

It then held is hands upwards to the sky, summoning a black pulsar of magic, the winds stirring up all around it. Erza re-equipped to her Giant's Armor and threw the Lance of Haja at it. Jellal sent a torrent of fire at the creature, trying to hinder its progress, but to no avail. A barrier of some kind protected the heartless, preventing Jellal's magic and the spear from reaching it.

Jellal focused his magic again, preparing to strike the heartless with Abyss Break when suddenly, Vinny leapt in front of him. He yelled at the old colonel to stand down, but those words fell on deaf ears. As the heartless flung the black pulsar downwards, Vinny leapt skywards, pulling his fist back in a punch as a yellow glow suffused his body. It was such a strong aura that Jellal felt its power from where he stood and was amazed with the man's determination.

Vinny collided with the black pulsar, and two simultaneous explosions of magic erupted in front of the trio's eyes. The heartless howled as it was thrown backwards slightly, apparently injured by the explosion. However, Vinny was also thrown to the ground, and Erza immediately ran to his side, helping him up.

'Go children, flee while there is still time,' he said, his breath coming in ragged bursts. 'This monster, this factory will end with me tonight,'

'NO!' Erza said adamantly 'We will not leave you here. We can help you fight!'

Erza saw the look in his eyes. The sadness was replaced by a fire. A determination unlike anything she had seen before.

'Let me do this, Erza, please. Let this be my redemption, for all that I have done. Please,'

'But…but..,' stammered Erza,

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Jellal standing there.

'Our fight is with White,' he said somberly.

Erza hesitated for a moment, taking a long look at the heartless. Sweets was currently fending it off, hacking at it with his sword.

'We'll stop the device. For sure,' she whispered.

The colonel smiled. He then shifted his gaze to Jellal.

'The device has been moved to, as you said, the place where it all began; The Tower of Heaven,'

Erza's eyes widened.

'Impossible! The tower was destroyed! There is no way-,'

'The island is still there, and that's where White has taken it,' said Vinny, wincing as he stood up 'Make sure you give him a good thrashing when you see him again,'

It was hard to leave the Colonel, after seeing how far he would go to help them. It took much more persuading and yelling to get Erza to leave the reactor. They eventually did escape, jump into the jeep and drive away swiftly; Erza holding back her tears the entire time.

…

Colonel Vincenzo Santorini stood on the slowly collapsing structure of the Beshin Mako Reactor, his back straight, his head held high and with the wind running through his hair. He was near exhaustion now, from holding the creature back while the three young ones escaped. But he still had enough juice in him for one last attack. One final blast. The heartless staggered in front of him, having already lost one of its arms and was slowly beginning to disappear.

Vinny tilted his head skywards and spread his hands wide open. A bright orange magic circle appeared at his feet, suffusing his body once more with its power. He felt the magic flow through him, as it always had.

10…

He hoped they had escaped.

9…

That boy, Jellal, he really had a good heart.

8…

He felt bad for making Erza doubt herself,

7…

He just had to be sure,

6…

That he would be passing on his legacy to good people,

5…

For no one should repeat the mistakes of his generation.

4…

But in the end,

3…

He smiled,

2..

Because he had no regrets,

1.

The ground shook and shuddered as the explosion tore through the otherwise calm night, and by the first light of dawn, only ruins stood at the once proud energy plant. And all that the curious villagers saw when they arrived were traces of thick black smoke, drifting upwards towards the heavens.

…

Cassie sat at her desk at the Sorcerer News studios, running her hands through her hair in frustration. Her deadline was tomorrow morning at 8am, and she had nothing to present. Nothing at all! No scandals, no pregnancy scares, no divorces. Nada, zip, zilch!

She leaned back on her chair and took another swig of her coffee. It had already gone cold. It was 3 am and she was cranky, tired and damned sure she wasn't going to get that promotion she so desperately needed.

_If only her fans could see her now._

The magical archive nodule blipped and whirred in front of her. Thanks to an archive mage and a technopath that their company had hired, the staff there could now use archive magic anytime they wanted.

'Fat load of help that is,' she grumbled, getting up, wanting to refill her coffee mug.

Suddenly, the screen of the nodule beeped as a communication message popped up on her screen.

'I didn't know it could do that,' she mumbled, edging closer to read the blurry text.

_LyonLover766 : I have something you need to see._

Cassie's eyes widened as she scrambled to type in a reply. Whoever this LyonLover guy was, he had been a very valuable informant. Who cared if he was nocturnal? She couldn't let any of her co-workers get the scoop before she did.

_Cassiegirl88 : What about?_

She waited with earnest for his reply.

_LyonLover766 : I have evidence tying Erza to Jellal and other members of Oracion Seis as well as that recent massacre at Magnolia Prison._

Her eyes bugged.

_Cassiegirl88 : Ooh, tell me, tell me!_

_LyonLover766 : I'm willing to make a trade. If I give you this information, I'll need you to do something for me first._

Without even sparing a second to think of its implications, she replied,

_Cassirgirl88 : I will do anything._

**End of Chapter 9! It took me an abysmally long time to type this one out. I kept getting sidetracked, by parents, siblings, ect ect. But finally, this one is off my chest. **

**I wanted Vinny to be a good guy in the end, I see him being the kind of soldier who's tired of all the fighting, and just wants to retire. But at the same time, he's got a good heart and won't let White win.**

**Ah yes, the heartless are from the Kingdom Hearts series, created by Tetsuya Nomura. I just loooove the video games, and I wanted to incorporate some element of it into the story line. For those who are not familiar with Heartless, here's the one which Jellal and Sweets fought in the factory**

**http: / images . wikia . com/ kingdomhearts /images/6/6c/ Neoshadow_(KHII). png**

**And, this is the one they fought towards the end :**

**http : / images . / kingdomhearts / images / 9 / 9 c / Darkside .png**

**remove spaces please! **

**Although, you've gotta imagine it like, a billion times larger than that.**

**And if you're wondering why there are heartless crawling around the reactor, well, the answer is this : White and Vinny finally got thr 'device' to work, and as a result, several heartless escaped from the Corridor of Darkness and ran lose in the factory. **

**Yes, Cassie is going to make a comeback in future chapters. And no, LyonLover766 is not Sherry. :)**

**I hope you did not find this chapter boring, there's not much Gerza in here, but I felt like I needed to tie up some lose ends regarding the plot. I promise there will be more lime/love/Gerza in the next few chappies! **

**Have a great week ahead! And do remember to review!**

**Cheers!**

**Asianpearl**


	11. Memories

**CHAPTER 10 : MEMORIES**

**Warning : Chapter contains strong language. Please be advised .**

**_From the memory of Jellal Fernandes,_**

**_Two days before the Tower of Heaven Incident_.**

The sky was cloudy, as it always was around these parts. The oceanic waters around the tower island lapped and slammed against its rocky beaches, the winds howled like raving wolves followed by the occasional flash and boom of lightning and thunder.

After eight long years, the tower was near its completion. Physically, structurally, it had been finished, and now, all that was left were the two final –and vital- components.

The first was the Etherion, the whole 2.7 billion Edeas of it. He knew he had to rely on those fools at the council to vote for his plan. Sure, Ultear did her part, spreading malicious rumors and whispering into the ears of those senile old men, lacing doubt in their hearts, fueling their fears. However, he felt like he had to be there in person, keeping an eye on things, making sure that the council didn't make their move too early, delaying and eventually destroying any attempt at an investigation in the waters of Ka Elm.

_If you want something done, do it yourself._

And then, there was the second component, and that was a different matter completely. A soul was required, a soul which was equivalent to Zeref.

If the rumors were true, and Zeref was indeed, the greatest and most powerful dark wizard of all time, then it would be common logic that Jellal would never be able to find a person whose magic could compare to that man. He supposed he could kidnap Markarov, or ask Hades or even Brain to do him a favor.

_Scratch that._

But then again, pure magic alone did not make a wizard powerful. It took courage, it took determination, and it took emotion. A wizard, when pushed to the extremes of his or her emotions, could do miraculous things with his power. He needed someone who was bound emotionally, to the tower, to the other prisoners, and most of all, to him.

_He needed her._

Jellal stood facing Simon, Wally, Shou, and Milianna, briefing them about their 'mission' to bring Erza back from Akane beach to the tower. He hid nothing from them, of course. Point blank he said that Erza would be his sacrifice and all her years of treachery would be repaid in this single act. He watched as their faces fell in sadness, doubt and hesitation; but they would get over it, he knew. Only Simon's face remained in that perpetual frown, hidden partially behind that metal frame. This irked Jellal, but for what reason, he wasn't sure.

'Am I understood?' he asked the group, although his gaze remained locked with Simon's, daring him to argue.

'Yes,' they mumbled and shuffled away.

Jellal heaved a sigh and collapsed on the throne. The past few days had been unusually taxing. He supposed the strain of it all was finally getting to him. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes, trying to obtain a brief moment of relaxation, allowing his mind to slip back into the warm blissful memories of skin, sheets and rose petals.

'Whoa… am I interrupting something?' came a sarcastically annoying voice. Cobra.

Startled, Jellal cursed as he quickly dragged his mind out of the gutter, not particularly keen at having _those_ memories heard by the poison dragon slayer.

_He did not need another man craving her._

Cobra had just walked into the throne room, his snake draped on his shoulders lovingly. Following behind him was Midnight, who oddly, was awake. The former had an annoyingly knowing smirk on his face, and for once, Jellal wished he wouldn't open his big mouth.

'Just ran into the others outside the throne room,' said Cobra 'They're pretty upset,'

'They shouldn't be,' Jellal murmured 'After all, they're bringing her back,'

There was a note of silence in the throne room.

'You should've let me go instead,' said Midnight, leaning casually against the wall 'I would've brought her back in half the time. And besides, it's not like we've got anything else to do,'

Jellal looked at Midnight through the corner of his eyes. Leopard print pants, black vest, eyeliner, lipstick; the man was a far cry from the scared little boy he had once been. Since he had discovered and started reaping the benefits of his powers, he had become twisted and masochistic. Tales of his exploits and '_conquests'_ had reached even Jellal's ears –again, thanks to Cobra-.

_No way in hell was Jellal going to let him anywhere near Erza._

'It is my fault of course, for telling Brain it would be alright for you people to spend your free time lounging around here. I will speak to him about it immediately,' said Jellal

'Ouch, man…' said Cobra 'Talk about marking your territory,'

And they knew he wasn't just talking about the tower.

'Simon, Shou, Milianna and Wally are enough,' said Jellal, closing the matter. He stood up to leave, walking past the other two as he did so.

'You are naïve,' said Midnight.

Jellal turned around sharply, pinning him with a cold glare.

'What was that?,' asked Jellal.

The man shrugged away from the wall, bypassed a stunned Cobra and faced Jellal.

'But also very lucky,' said Midnight, in a matter-of –fact tone. 'I can only imagine what it feels like to end her life,'

He smirked, and Jellal felt like putting a fist through his head.

'It makes your heart race in anticipation. Doesn't it?' continued the Oracion Seis general.

He walked languidly out of the room, leaving Cobra and Jellal in stunned silence.

'Hey Jellal-,' began Cobra.

'I don't even want to know,' said Jellal.

….

**_From the memory of Lance Sweets,_**

**_Three days before the Magnolia Prison Massacre. _**

Solitary confinement was a dull and depressing thing. So depressing, in fact, that Sweets was left to ponder the ways he could commit suicide, and boy, was he getting creative.

He could burn himself; let the fires and the Etherion consume his flesh until there was nothing more than burnt bone and tissue. But the guards had strapped anti-magical manacles on him, and for added measure, drawn binding runes all over his skin.

_Nope_

Or he could asphyxiate himself, roll up his sock and shove it down his throat. He could even clog up the ventilation pipes as an added bonus. It would take him mere seconds to kick the bucket that way.

_Nah_

He knew hanging wasn't an option either. The guards who worked in the underground prison cells of the Era council complex patrolled in front of his cell every five minutes or so. Definitely not enough time to execute a perfect suicide.

He had been in this cell for the past three months, and he had learned to stop wondering why he was here instead of Magnolia Prison, like the rest of the criminals. He was being kept here by Shinra. Sweets, of course, had no idea what the councilman was up to, and couldn't be bothered really. The old man was probably thinking up the most creative way to end the ex-agent's miserable existence.

And he couldn't complain , for Sweets knew he had no more reason to live, no more reason to keep trying to rectify his mistakes. She was gone, she was never coming back.

There were footsteps, two pairs of them. He could recognize one of them as the fleet footed gait of the prison guard, but the other was new to him. The footsteps were heavy and spaced far apart; this man was in no rush. The metal bars of his cell rattled open as a uniformed guard told him he had a visitor. He cleared his throat and spoke to that invisible someone who stood just beyond Sweet's line of sight.

'Right this way sir,'

And into the pale yellow lamplight of the hallway stepped the bulky frame of Councilman Shinra. He looked no different than usual, however, the usual glint of supremacy and arrogance in his eyes was now replaced with what seemed like irritation, and unless Sweets was mistaken, he swore there was a tinge of fear in the man's blue orbs.

'You may leave us now,' said Shinra, waving the guard off with a flick of thick wrist. He brought out a handkerchief with the other and started dabbing at his forehead. Beads of sweat were already appearing on his brow.

The guard looked hesitant. Clearly, this was against protocol.

'For goodness sakes, man!' said Shinra, raising his voice 'Can't you people take instructions anymore? What the bloody hell are we paying you for?'

The guard walked away, but stood firmly at the end of the corridor, his keen eyes trained on the councilman and the prisoner. Sweets stood up from his slumped position on the cot and faced the councilman. Had they decided on his execution already?

'To what do I owe this unexpected visit, father-in-law?' because Sweets never liked him that much, and calling him that was the quickest way to annoy him.

The councilman's face reddened with anger, steam practically spouting from his ears and Sweets half expected him to explode then and there itself. The councilman raised his fist, as if to strike Sweets, but instead, brought it down against the metal bars of the cell, leaving a fist sized hole between the bars.

_Good to know he still works out._

'You will be silent while I explain this, you murdering son of a bitch. I will not repeat myself, and I will not take no for an answer. I'm going to send you on a little mission. Play along nicely, and your sentence will be put on hold... indefinitely,'

'What if I don't?'

The councilman glared at him

'I'll see to it that you become a live test subject for the radioactive pharmaceutical division, and you'll go back to living in that hellhole my daughter pulled you out of in the first place. God rest her soul,' he spat at Sweets.

'What do I have to do?' asked Sweets. His hands were shaking now, and he needed to forcibly keep them at his side to stop himself from lunging at the councilman.

Shinra reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two Polaroid pictures. Sweets took them and looked at the images. He recognized the redhead as Erza Scarlet, from Fairy Tail. Well, who wouldn't? But the other one, hadn't he been one of those Wizard Saints? Oh right...

'Jellal Fernandes, sentenced for treason, arson, murder and conspiracy. As much as I hate to admit, those two are going on a field trip to Symphonia. Collecting evidence, and hopefully stopping another world domination plot by the Balam Alliance. You'll go with them as a council liaison,'

Sweets sniggered lightly.

'Just by listening, I can tell that this thing has more holes in it than Swiss cheese,' said Sweets 'The idiot who approved this mission must've had a major soft spot for Erza to allow her to take Fernandes along. There are just way too many liabilities here,'

Shinra didn't reply, and Sweets looked up to see a murderous glare in the councilman's eyes. Not that it wasn't there before.

_Oh._

'Why me? Aren't you afraid that I'll make a run for it?' asked Sweets.

'You won't run,' said the councilman 'You're much too noble for that,'

He continued

'And although I will vehemently deny ever saying this, you were one of our best agents. I suppose it's time you put your –how shall we say- abilities to good use,'

The councilman walked to the edge of the cell, his back turned on Sweets.

'Oh yes, I have done my research, you good for nothing brat. Lance Sweets, the only successful subject of Project 3173. Those nut jobs think they turned your body into, apparently, the perfect weapon,' he sneered.

'They were right,' Sweets said hollowly, eyes not focusing anymore 'A weapon, that's all I am, only capable of destruction,'

'High time you fulfill your purpose then… as a tool for the council,' said Shinra.

The councilman walked out of the cell, slamming the bars as he went. And Sweets clutched the pictures in his hands, tears now slowly falling from his eyes, the salty streams reaching his lips as he mumbled

'_I'm sorry, Daisy'_

….

**_From the memory of Erza Scarlet,_**

**_One week before the Magnolia Prison Massacre_**

'I'm hotter!,'

'No, I'm, hotter!,'

'Idiot, I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer! I'm hotter by definition!' yelled Natsu slamming his fist on the table, getting revved up and ready to fight.

'Reality check loser! I've got a larger fan club than you ever will,' boasted Gray, a superior aura surrounding him.

'Hah! And I bet half of your fans' initials are J.L!' sneered Natsu 'Well, let's ask the girls what they think,'

He rounded on Lucy and Erza, bringing his grinning face annoyingly close to them before asking

'It's me right? I'm the hottest right? Tell me, tell me, tell me!'

Gray –shirtless again- pushed Natsu's face out of the way before giving both girls one of his signature Gray 'seductive looks'. You could almost feel Juvia's icy glare from behind one of the nearby columns, and Lucy sweatdropped instantly.

'Well, my dears, whaddaya think?'

As Lucy and Happy tried their best to placate the two men, Erza just sighed languidly and took another sip of her sake. Granted, it was only 12 noon, and altogether too early for alcohol; but the four –well, five if you considered Happy- of them had just come back from another mission and she was dead tired, and really not in the mood for the antics of the two boys.

This time, they were tasked to bust a lacrima smuggling syndicate. It had been nerve wrecking work, staying up on stake out the whole night. Their employer insisted they catch the ringleader behind the syndicate and had forcibly reminded them not to go in, guns blazing and destroying everything in sight. It all worked out eventually. They didn't destroy much in the end. In Erza's own professional opinion, they left just enough damage for the syndicate –and their employer- to think twice before invoking the wrath of a Fairy Tail mage in the future.

Erza looked over at her comrades, watching them with a half smile on her face as Natsu and Gray continued to battle it out, verbally, of course. Somehow, Mirajane and Juvia had gotten themselves involved in the squabble and now, the both of them and Lucy had resorted to holding up score cards as Natsu and Gray jumped around, performing tricks for their tiny audience.

'Hem hem,' came a decidedly feminine voice behind Erza.

Erza turned around quickly to see a tall, brown haired woman standing behind her. The woman was dressed in a cream colored lacy blouse and a black pencil skirt; her hair fell into neat shoulder length waves, and as she stuck out her right hand for Erza to shake, the Fairy Tail mage counted five perfectly manicured nails.

'Hi there, my name is Emma. We've never met before, but I would like to offer you a job Miss Scarlet,'

Erza took the woman's hand, slightly stunned at the sudden greeting. The others stopped their games and were now observing the two women. Emma was smiling, but Erza noticed that her smile did not quite reach her penetrating ochre eyes.

'I would be pleased to listen to your proposition Emma,' said Erza 'but my friends and I have just returned from a very taxing mission, and I'm afraid all job offers have to be channeled and approved through the guild itself,'

'I see,' said Emma, withdrawing her hand, 'However, I wish to offer this mission to you only Miss Scarlet. You see, the matter sits very close to my heart, and if there is any way I can-,'

'Please, call me Erza,' she said 'All right then, If it's that important to you, why don't you have a seat, and we'll talk. Perhaps we can approach the master, and he'll make special arrangements,'

It wasn't like this had never happened before. She had been approached to take on single missions ever since they had dubbed her 'Titania'. She gesticulated to the chair across from her, but Emma didn't move.

'Perhaps, we could talk in private?'

She looked over at her comrades, 'It'll just be a few minutes'

As Erza got up and led the brown haired woman to one of the private sitting rooms off the main hall, Natsu tapped Lucy on the shoulder. He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially,

'Hey Lucy, she smells familiar,'

'What?' whispered Lucy back 'How can you tell?'

Gray was watching their interaction, a thoughtful look on his face.

'My nose is never wrong' he repeated, frowning 'I don't remember her face or her name, but I definitely recognize her smell. We know this woman, from somewhere in the past!'

And the small group of people stared at the retreating forms of the two women, curious frowns on their faces.

….

Erza shut the door of the private sitting room behind her, thanking the heavens that the room was sound proof. Honestly, the others could be such annoying children sometimes.

'I'm terribly sorry if my friends were gawking,' she began 'It's just that we're such a tight knit bunch, we've become really protective of one another,'

'Yeah, friends do that sometimes, especially the good ones,' said Emma. She drifted over to the window, peering outside for awhile before shutting the blinds.

A tiny red flag went up inside Erza's head as the smile disappeared from Emma's face as the woman's eyes scanned the room.

'We're not being watched, if that's what you're worried about,' said Erza, her voice taking a slight edge. This woman did not behave like a guest in dire need of help.

Emma's eyes snapped back to Erza's, and the smile returned. She lowered herself elegantly onto one of the couches while Erza remained standing.

'Of course not. So, now that we're on the topic of friends, let's talk about a mutual friend of ours. He got tossed into prison recently. Treason, or something like that,'

More red flags went up.

'I don't believe I know who you're talking about,' said Erza

Emma laughed lightly and tilted her head sideways.

'Of course you do silly,' as if reprimanding a small child 'the name Jellal Fernandes ring a bell?'

Erza paled as alarm bells went off in her head. Seemingly pleased with her reaction, Emma smiled, crossed her feet, and clasped her hands together, leaning them on her knees, resting her chin on her knuckles.

'Who are you?' asked Erza, her hand finding the hilt of her sword 'And what do you want from me?'

'I know you better than you may think, Miss Scarlet,' said Emma 'and I want you to get Jellal out of prison for me,'

'What?'

'Listen to me very carefully,' said Emma 'In a few short months, a machine will be completed by Grimoire Hearts. This machine will bring unspeakable damage to the world, unleashing terror and evil like no other this land has seen before,'

She stood up and approached Erza, their gaze never breaking contact.

'You will find a way to get Jellal out of prison, and the both of you will find a way to stop the machine before it's too late,'

'Why Jellal?' asked Erza 'Why not Hibiki Laytis or even some other technopath?'

'Because, my dear Erza, Jellal Fernandes was one of the people who built the machine in the first place,'

Emma studied Erza's reaction of shock for a moment before realizing this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

'What's with the face sweetie? I thought you of all people would jump in joy at the chance to be reunited with your lover once again,' she said in a cynical voice.

Before she knew it, the tip of a sword had been pressed up against Emma's throat. Her eyes widened for a second before her face settled again into the lazy, sinister smile she had adapted.

'Who. The hell. Are you?' Erza bit out, rage coating every syllable.

And before her eyes, Emma's brown hair lengthened and darkened to black, her tanned complexion paled and her features changed and sharpened and finally Erza drew her sword away, recoiling as she recognized the new face.

'You!' said Erza, her rage boiling anew 'How dare you show your face here! How dare you tell me what to do! How dare you… after all you put Jellal through, after all you put us through!'

The time mage merely shrugged and looked away. Her clothes hadn't changed.

'I was pushed into a corner. And believe me; I'm only doing this under sheer desperation,'

She regarded Erza as if Titania was dirt.

'As if a proud mage of Grimoire Hearts would stoop so low as to beg for help from a Fairy Tail whore like you,'

'Speak for yourself, bitch. How many months did you spend sucking the dicks of those councilmen before you finally blackmailed their trust out of them?' retorted Erza angrily.

She felt pleased with herself. It wasn't very often that Erza Scarlet played the role of the mean girl.

'Why? Jealous?' replied Ultear.

Erza blushed and gaped as she realized the implications of Ultear's words.

_He would never; surely, he would never have…_

'I don't have time for this. White may have already realized that I've come here,' said Ultear, morphing back into Emma.

'Who's White?' asked Erza

'You'll find out later,' said Emma. However, Erza didn't budge, blocking the room's only exit.

'Look, believe whatever you want to believe about me and Jellal; but the fact is that the machine really does exist. As it is, White is already too powerful for me to control. I thought I had this under my power as usual but…,'

'This doesn't make us friends, or allies, or whatever you choose to call it. I'm still your enemy, and I will not hesitate to kill you if I ever see you again,' Emma paused 'This is just me giving you a heads up in case, well… in case it blows up in all our faces,'

Finally, Erza stepped out of the way.

'This conversation never happened,' said Emma 'You can create any story you want for your pathetic friends,'

'Just get out of my sight before I attack you myself,' said Erza.

There was a brief 'click click click' of heels and then the door of the sitting room shut behind her, leaving the room in silence once more.

….

**_Present day,_**

**_Akane Beach, Fiore,_**

**_Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Wendy._**

It was 7 am on a Saturday, and the hotel rooms in Akane were otherwise silent as its many patrons decided to sleep in on the weekend. However, a certain blonde haired stellar mage stormed into one the hotel rooms and flipped on the lights, rudely awakening her three sleeping comrades. In her hand, she waved a letter around energetically, yelling at everyone to wake up.

'It's from Erza! I got a letter from Erza!' said Lucy 'They're coming to Akane as soon as possible and she said she's bringing her 'friends''

'Aren't we her friends?' said Happy groggily, slumped on Natsu's head as the pink haired mage drifted off to sleep again.

'Of course she means the other two!' said Wendy excitedly 'Just like they said in the news. Sweets and… and…,'

'Jellal,' finished Gray. It was no secret that the two men weren't exactly comfortable with the idea that Erza was running around the Symphonian countryside with the ex-wizard saint. 'What else did she say in the letter, Lucy?'

'That's it,' she replied 'Short and simple. She might've been in a rush,'

The ice mage sighed heavily and leaned back on the headboard.

'Why can't our missions ever be simple?' he mumbled 'This kinda stuff always happens to us. First Lullaby, and then Deliora-,'

'DELIORA! That's it!' yelled Natsu suddenly, sitting up fully alert in bed. The shock caused Gray to fall to the floor, cursing and Happy to ricochet off Natsu's head.

'What's it, you idiot? And don't pretend to be sleeping when you're not!' yelled Gray.

Natsu leaned forward, he was shirtless now, and his boxers hung low on his hips. He looked ecstatic for some reason.

'Lucy, remember that day when that chick Emma came to our guild and asked Erza to help her with something, but Erza said it was just some nosey reporter instead, and I told you that I had smelt her somewhere before?'

'Yeah…' said Lucy

'It was Zalty!' at their blank faces he said 'Come on you guys! Dontcha' remember? You know, that weird short guy with the mask! Zalty!'

'Oh yea... I do remember him,' said Gray 'He was helping Lyon'

'Yeah, exactly! Only then, Zalty smelt like a woman!'

'So, you're saying that Zalty, who is actually Emma, who is actually a reporter, came to visit Erza that day at the guild?' said Wendy, one eyebrow raised.

Natsu nodded energetically.

'Talk about being dedicated to your job,' said Gray, picking himself up.

Yawning, he then walked towards the bathroom, stretching his arms out and flexing his muscles as he went. Natsu frowned as he noticed Lucy's eyes lingering on the ice mage.

'I'm still hotter than you!' yelled Natsu childishly, dunking his head back under the covers, and falling asleep almost instantly.

**End of Chapter 10! So yeah, it's another flashback chappie, and I do hope it clears things up for you guys. Just a few things I want to mention**

**I tried my best to interpret the tower of heaven scenario through Jellal's eyes. Please forgive me if I got any of the concepts wrong. As I've been depending heavily in fairytail wikia for information.**

**Wouldn't it be cool if evil Jellal, Midnight and Cobra formed a boyband? Hahahaha.. (randomness) **

**In this chapter of my story, Sweets is in a rather angry, I hate the world phase due to Daisy's death. Hence, the suicide contemplation scene. **

**I honestly cannot choose between Natsu and Gray. Haha. They're both sexyfine to me. Whaddaya think?**

**The thing is, Ultear is not a good character yet. So don't go crossing her off the list. She's still evil . Nyahahhaaa.**

**So, That's the end of that, please review. You'll be making me very happy if you do. **

**Cheers!**

**Asianpearl.**


	12. Initiation

**CHAPTER 11 : INITIATION**

The pale morning sun stretched its first rays across the empty beaches of Akane, greeting the clear azure oceanic waters which lapped at the shore; letting the cerulean waves glitter as thin sprays of sea mist lifted off its surface, moistening the otherwise chilly morning air.

A solitary figure clad in only a t-shirt, shorts and a sweater jogged barefooted on the sand. He was the lifeguard on duty for the morning, and as he went about doing his regular stretches and warm-up exercises, a sudden ominous feeling sank into his heart.

Dropping the exercises completely, he cast his gaze towards the oceans and noticed a cluster of dark clouds forming in the distance. It could've been a storm or some other weather anomaly, but something in his gut told him that it was neither. After all, strange things had happened in the waters of Ka Elm.

He had heard of those stories since he was a boy. _Behave_, his mama would tell him. _Or else I'll make the evil men come for you, and lock you up in a prison tower where you'll never see the light of day again ._It was a mere bedtime story of course, meant to keep naughty children from sneaking out at night and from stealing coins from their parent's pockets.

The hum of a vehicle's engine reached his ears and the lifeguard turned around to see a jeep passing by on the roadway beside the beach. He could make out three people at least, one with long red hair. They seemed to be in quite a hurry based on the speed at which the vehicle was travelling.

_Tourists._ _Go figure. _

Of course, as with all bedtime stories and fairy tales; the stories his mama told him had vanished into insignificance over time. After all, if there were such things as children being held prisoners in a dark tower by an ancient, evil cult; would the Ministry have done something about it?

He clambered up his high chair and upon resting himself on its wooden frame, dug out a pair of binoculars from his knapsack and raised them to his face, scanning the ocean for anything suspicious. Finding nothing, he diverted his attention back to the ominous cluster of dark clouds. A frown tugged at the corners of his lips as the sinking feeling grew in his chest. He then twiddled the dials on the binoculars, peering deeper and deeper into the ever growing darkness.

….

Shadows.

As much as she hated to admit it, her life in these past couple of months had revolved mostly around them. They lurked in the void beyond her peripheral vision, making her heart jolt in fear every time they shifted and moved, undulated and dissolved again into nothingness. Together with the darkness, they were the very essence of those foul creatures that had come out of the abyss; with those horrid yellow eyes and those twitching forms, reminiscent of the undead.

Even in her dreams, she had not been spared the torment of the shadows. Within her nightly visions, they took the form of haunting specters and grotesque demons, chasing her through the chasm of her memories, never lacking in their determination in their attempts to send her to damnation. However, the shadows she feared the most bore the visages of the people whom she had murdered and betrayed in her past. Friends, allies, men, women; they all peered at her through the thin veil of smoke and mist, glaring at her through their hollow, empty eyes, surrounding her from every angle, making it impossible to escape.

And at the end of it all, she would see _her _face, the woman who bore such a striking resemblance to her that she sometimes believed that she was looking into a mirror. However, the woman's dark eyes would narrow and her lips would thin into a single straight line and her forehead would crease with anger, irritation and disappointment, and Ultear would immediately know it was the ghost of her mother she had encountered.

That particular morning, she felt a prodding sensation somewhere in the vicinity of her knee. As the last vestiges of shadows and sleep left her, she opened her eyes only to come face to face with the insect like features and ghostly yellow eyes of a heartless. A shrill scream tore from her throat as the humanoid creature that had been hovering over her sleeping form suddenly crystallized with age, frozen in its own skin.

There was a shuffling of cloth beside her and she turned to see White rubbing the sleep from his eyes lethargically, propping his naked form up on his other elbow.

'The poor thing,' he yawned sleepily 'it probably just wanted to have a good sniff at your black soul,'

She hissed in annoyance at the man as the crystallized body shattered into dust.

'Well, if you're so fond of those things, you can let _them_ share your bed instead,' throwing the sheets off her, she moved quickly, dressing herself in her discarded clothes. This hadn't been the first time she had done so.

He laughed some more and sat up properly, swinging his feet off the bed. As he stretched, her eyes trained over the many angry scars which ran along his back. Whip marks, by the looks of it. She hadn't bothered asking him where those had come from, knowing he wasn't likely to give her a straight answer.

As she re-tied her hair into a high ponytail, he approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened and made to pull away, but he only tightened his hold.

'Now, now, my dear; let's not be too hasty,' he whispered into her ear, his foul morning breath nearly making her gag 'I was merely thanking you properly for re-creating the tower for our use,'

She snorted. Re-creating a building from a pile of rubble was child's play for someone with her capabilities. But he knew as well as she did, the tower would once again serve more than his purpose alone.

_It's for Zeref, everything was for him._

'Huh. If last night was a demonstration of your appreciation, I assume that you weren't really that grateful to begin with,' she replied smoothly.

A pause, and then…

'Are you by any chance comparing me to Jellal?' he sneered 'Oh silly me, I forgot. The only place where that man could ever stand being near you is in your dreams,'

More discordant laughter echoed in the bed chamber as he released her and padded out of the room.

Again, the shadows moved in the corners of her vision. She was being watched, she should have known he didn't trust her. The time mage then raised her hands and rubbed at the goosebumps that had surfaced on her skin.

It was at that precise moment, feeling like a prisoner inside a domain of her own creation, that she decided to take control back into her own hands.

'Wait for me, my darling Zeref. I will be reunited with you soon,'

….

Although she didn't show it, Erza was worried. All along the journey from Symphonia to Akane, she had continuously wondered how her friends would react to meeting Jellal and Sweets. Sure she had given them fair warning with the letter she sent to Lucy, but then again, the letter had been brief, much to brief.

Should she have told Natsu and the rest about her plans even before she left the guild? Should she have brought them along on this mission?

But it was not like she hadn't thought things through.

Even before she had begun the quest, she had it all mapped out in her head. She would defeat the bad guy, prove Jellal's innocence to the council and then introduce Jellal to her friends. In her imagination, they would somehow get along, and Jellal would be accepted into Fairy Tail by Master Makarov. Eventually, the Jellal whom the public would get to know as Erza's lover would be a kind and honest man rid of the sins and darkness of his past; and eager to set things right in the world again.

And now, thanks to that Sorcerer reporter, the world had found out about Jellal and Sweets much too soon. Thanks to her callous words, the public would only be able to see Jellal as a dangerous, traitorous man and Sweets as a murderer. The damage had already been done.

She wondered whether her teammates had seen the news report.

_Of course they had._

She wondered if they would be kind to him for her sake.

_Or treat him like a villain, because he had tried to hurt her before._

She wondered if it was too late to change their minds about him, to make them accept him for who he really was, instead of the possessed man that they had fought mere months ago.

_Because she honestly could not bear to choose between her friends and the man she loved._

….

As Sweets drove into the parking lot of Akane resort, he noticed three things.

One, the weather was odd today. According to the forecast, they were expected to have a cloudless day of sunshine; but as he eased the jeep into a parking space, the distant rumble of thunder echoed through the cloudy sky.

Two, Erza looked like she was about to come face to face with the grim reaper. Her usual smile had vanished from her face and her features were set in a determined front. But he knew that was to be expected. How often do you go up to your friends and say 'Hey guys! Look who I brought for dinner, a convicted felon and the guy who tried to kill me the other day!'

Three, a strange, pink haired man and what looked like a blue flying cat were hurtling towards them; arms spread wide open with identical exuberant grins on their faces.

'Erza!' they yelled.

He literally jumped on her, wrapping his arms around her neck in a tight embrace. She embraced him in return, some of the worry disappearing from her features. The cat-bird-thing joined the group hug, and Sweets noticed the two angel-like wings sprouting from its back.

'I'm so glad you're safe,' said the man 'Gramps told us about the prison attack. He said that Grimoire Hearts is coming after you, and that they're trying to take over the world,'

He pulled away, but his hands still lingered on her arms.

'But don't worry Erza,' he said grinning 'Now that all of us are together again; we'll kick their Grimoire asses! Just let them try!'

She smiled and nodded 'Yeah let them try,'

The pink haired man lifted his gaze from Erza and as soon as his eyes locked with Jellal's, they narrowed into a frown. Jellal stood his ground however, and met the man' stare with a glare of his own. Sweets could feel the tension building between the two men, so thick, so palpable; you could slice through it with a sword.

The man finally grinned, showing his fangs and stuck out a hand, bent at the elbow the way an arm wrestler would position his arm.

'Heh, good to have you back Jellal. Gonna stick around longer this time?'

Jellal grasped the man's hand, and gripped; an identical grin on his features.

'I intend to, Natsu Dragneel. You won't be able to get rid of me so easily,'

Obviously, Sweets had missed something; having only heard bits and pieces of the story from Shinra before he left the council. Since when had those two become friends? Erza had probably noticed the blank expression on his face and came to his rescue.

'Natsu, this is Special Agent Lance Sweets,' she said, directing his attention to the agent 'He's on our side,'

Apparently, that explanation was good enough for Natsu. He waved energetically and clapped Sweets on the back.

'Hiya! Nice to meet you!'

Which Sweets could only stammer a reply, still winded by the dragon slayer's hearty thumps on his back. By now, Erza had relaxed.

'Where are Lucy and Gray? Weren't they with you guys?' she said

As if on cue, the voices of three more people reached their ears, Sweets turned to see a shirtless man, -presumably Gray- , a blonde woman, and much younger blue haired girl approach them, calling out happily.

Sweets watched as they exchanged hugs with Erza, happy voices filling the air. Eventually, as Natsu did, they greeted Jellal with careful smiles, making Jellal smile and laugh as they bombarded him with relentless questions. And Sweets felt just slightly left out.

As Jellal released the hand of the blushing younger girl, Sweets realized that he has seen her on television before. _Oh right,_ this was definitely Wendy.

Suddenly, Sweets felt a weight on the top of his head, and as he raised a hand to brush off whatever had landed there, a blue feline face suddenly appeared upside down in front of his. The flying cat had landed on top of his head and was now hanging from his head, grinning in front of his face.

'Hi! I'm Happy!' it said in a cheerful voice 'Does your name mean that you've got some candy for me?'

'I…. uh… well… I..,' attempted Sweets, not sure how to respond to a talking cat.

'Get off him Happy!' came a voice 'you've scared the poor guy'

He found himself face to face with the blonde girl. She looked sternly at the cat and as it lifted off Sweet's head and settled on her shoulder, she smiled at Sweets.

'If he can ask you that, it means he likes you already,' she said, flicking several strands of her hair from her face 'I'm Lucy by the way,' she said holding out her hand.

_Ah, the stellar mage. Erza spoke about her a lot._

'Call me Sweets,' he said, taking her hand and giving it a polite shake.

'Come on you guys,' said Gray 'Let's get inside before it starts to pour,'

And the seven of them, eight, if you included Happy; trudged into the resort, and again, Sweets noticed three things.

One, Erza was not worried anymore. She smiled warmly as she chatted with Lucy, her hand slipping discreetly into Jellal's, their fingers intertwining as they walked.

Two, the hotel staff scurried out of their way as they walked, making Sweets feel like he was part of a gang of some kind, and he wondered what Erza and her friends could have done to deserve such notoriety. But the mere thought that he finally had people to call friends warmed his heart.

Three, as they filled the elevator going up to the 22nd floor, Natsu caught Gray's eye and they both shared a discreet nod, their smiles thinning for a fraction of a second.

But just then, Wendy started tugged on the sleeve of his shirt and began to ask him about something, leaving him no time to ponder the strange gesture.

….

'…And then, the Colonel used his magic to destroy the factory, killing himself in the process,' finished Erza, a somber expression on her face.

They had set up a kind of magical teleconference in their hotel suite. A magical wireless camera had been set up on the dining table and the flickering projections of both Master Makarov and Councilman Shinra stood in the center of the room, facing the group of mages. Natsu, Happy and Wendy were lounging on the bed, eyes wide with attention. Gray and Lucy occupied the couch beside the windows while Jellal and Sweets stood beside Erza, standing sentinel by her side, filling in whatever details Erza had left out.

They decided to tell Natsu and the rest the story simultaneously with Makarov and Shinra, as not to waste time, and also to avoid repeating some of the more painful moments more than once.

'I hope you're satisfied with the files I sent you, father-in-law,' said Sweets 'Does it qualify as proof?'

Shinra frowned as he picked up one of the files Laxus had given Erza. They had made copies and sent them to the council and Makarov when Erza had delivered the letter to Lucy.

'These are extraordinarily detailed. I must admit, the skills of a Fairy Tail wizard have proven themselves yet again,' said the councilman. 'A very good job indeed,'

'Are you positive you cannot tell me who prepared these?' asked Makarov

The old man met Erza's eyes and despite his steely gaze, she held firm and shook her head, denying his request. But as always, she had a feeling that he knew.

'So, what do you plan to do now?' asked the councilman 'I will need at most, half a day to dispatch the Rune Knights to your location,'

'We attack of course!' exclaimed Natsu from his position on the bed 'For all we know, White and Ultear are cranking out heartless as we speak,'

The rest of them tried their best not to visualize how wrong those words sounded.

'Idiot,' retorted Gray 'We should wait for backup. If what they're saying is accurate, then White is capable of summoning thousands of heartless at once. We'd be overwhelmed if we attack right now,'

Makarov nodded in agreement.

'Gray is right,' he said 'It's best for you to rest up. By tomorrow, you'll be ready to take on the mission,'

He turned to the councilman.

'I trust the council will cooperate fully with my children?' there was no ignoring the steel which edged his voice.

'As much as they possibly can,' said Shinra, sweat appearing at his brow under Makarov's intense gaze.

'And they already think we're dead,' added Jellal 'They won't be expecting an attack,'

Murmurs of agreement were heard as several more ideas and strategies were tossed back and forth between the three parties. In the end, it was decided that Shinra would deploy the Rune Knights to Akane as soon as possible. At dawn tomorrow, the eight of them would head out into the waters ok Ka Elm, and be prepared to bring down the Tower of Heaven once again.

….

It was five in the afternoon, and after a day of laughter, stories and relaxation, they were all lounging in Natsu and Gray's room. They had three rooms to themselves. Natsu and Gray shared one, Sweets and Gerard had another, and the girls took the remaining. It had been a fun day, that was for sure, but thoughts of impending doom were never far from their minds.

They watched as Wendy, Happy, Natsu and Lucy played a particularly loud game of poker on the floor. After awhile, Lucy shoved her cards away in frustration.

'Gahh, I've had enough of this,' she stood up, stretching 'How about we do something else instead?'

'Aww… come on Lucy,' whined Happy 'You still owe me five jellybeans and two ice cream cones!'

'How about some volleyball?' announced Gray 'It's been awhile, and I want to make sure I'm not rusty,'

Erza stood up and clapped her hands together, an excited glimmer in her eyes.

'Yes! Let's do that! Just let me go change and I'll-'

'Oh no you don't,' said Natsu, grinning conspiratorially. He moved behind Jellal and Sweets, slinging an arm around each of their shoulders.

'Just us guys. We've got a lot of male bonding to do. Why don't you girls stay and uh… gossip or something?'

Wendy and Lucy immediately began to protest, something about being them being sexist, stereotyping chauvinists. Jellal met Erza's eyes and despite feeling left out, she gave him an encouraging smile.

'Let them have their fun girls,' said Erza, turning to Lucy and Wendy 'How about we check out the spa instead?'

….

The four of them, plus Loki, trudged through the fine white seaside sand of Akane beach, all decked out in board shorts and t-shirts. They had left Happy with the girls and brought along the celestial spirit instead.

'_Hey Lucy, you mind if I borrow Loki for a while?' asked Natsu while applying a dollop of sunscreen on is nose._

'_Huh?' said Lucy, who had been checking out her outfit –a miniskirt and tube top- in the mirror 'Aren't you guys playing volleyball? You've already got four players,'_

'_He'll be the referee,' said Gray, setting his sunglasses on his head like a hair band 'to break up any possible … ah… conflicts of interest between teams,'_

'_You'd better let them have him Lucy. Who knows what they might be up to,' said Erza._

And for the past ten minutes, they had trekked down the beach, apparently searching for the right spot to start playing. But as they moved further and further away from the crowd. Jellal's suspicions began to rise. The three men were also being oddly silent. He met Sweet's eyes and the agent merely shrugged, not saying a word.

They finally reached a deserted part of the beach littered with many giant boulders of various shapes and sizes. Even the sand there had turned from a pristine white into a dark shade of grey. When they finally reached the tallest rock, Natsu, Gray and Loki rounded on Jellal, backing him up against the boulder. Sweets stepped between the two parties, years of agency training telling him to expect violence.

'Stand down Agent Sweets,' said Loki 'We're only here to talk,'

'So talk,' said Sweets, but he turned around as he felt Jellal's hand in his shoulder.

'Its fine,' he said, meeting Sweet's eyes, there was determination in those emerald green orbs 'It was only a matter of time anyway,'

Sweets moved, but only so that he could stand beside Jellal.

'So, as we all know Erza likes you and you like her,' began Loki 'We've all accepted that,'

'But the thing is, we don't know if we can trust you with her,' said Gray 'Coz you know… you've been a mad possessed lunatic once, who's to say it won't happen again?'

And Jellal could not reply, for he knew it was true.

'Hey, but-'interrupted Sweets

'So, here's the deal,' said Natsu, making his voice louder, intending to intimidate Jellal 'If she's happy, we're happy. If she's hurt even the slightest, we'll track you down and make you wish you'd never been born,'

That sounded reasonable to Jellal. Already, he would give his life to protect her. He wasn't worried about himself. Just knowing that she had such caring friends who would not turn their backs on her made him breathe easy.

'You've got yourselves a deal,' said Jellal, shaking the hands of all three men 'I'll give you my word as a gentleman,'

Pleased with his statement, they broke out into three identical grins and welcomed Jellal and Sweets heartily into their fraternity of "Fairy Tail's Most Awesomest Men". There were whoops of joy and laughter as Natsu and Gray dragged Sweets into the water with them, splashing the agent and pulling him under.

Back on the beach, Loki looked at Jellal seriously and told the blue haired man that he needed to ask him a very important question. With a very Sherlock Holmes like expression, he leaned in and said,

'So, just between us men, tell me honestly… Have you made it to second base with Erza yet?'

Mortified, Jellal realized he did not need to answer as a loud exclamation could be heard from the waves, and in instant, twin spheres of ice and fire had knocked the lion spirit to the ground.

….

A breathy moan escaped her lips as his talented hands worked their way down her naked back. The fragrant oils he had used served as lubrication, making his movements fluid and sinuous. He straddled her now, and she could feel the tiny beads of moisture that dotted his skin as he pressed up against her further, going faster, deeper, harder, increasing her breaths and making her eyes roll back to her skull with pleasure.

'God Emillio, don't stop, faster,' she moaned, unable to move, held down by his weight.

A door was opened, and the lights were thrown on, effectively breaking the spell. As Erza sat up, covering herself and peered through the aromatherapic haze at the maid that had just entered the massage cubicle. She had a package in her hands.

'Please forgive my intrusion Miss Scarlet, Emillio,' she said, nodding to the two of them 'But I have a message from Mr Fernandes for you,'

It was possibly the best back rub she had ever had in her entire life, but a different kind of warmth filled her heart at the sound of Jellal's name.

'He wishes that you join him for dinner at the pavilion overlooking the ocean,' continued the maid 'And that you accept this gift,'

Inside the package was a beautiful white empire waist beach dress. And as she studied the intricate gold lace embroidery on its fringes, the warmth in her heart grew even brighter. She turned to her good looking massage therapist and smiled apologetically.

'Sorry Emillio, looks like we have to reschedule,'

….

Everything was perfect, the dinner table, the ambiance, the sunset, even the weather seemed to be on his side. The early morning rain clouds had disappeared, and now, a gentle sea breeze wafted along the coastline, making the overhanging wind chimes tinkle merrily.

But Jellal stood against the wooden balustrade of the pavilion, occasionally running his fingers through his already messy hair, while the other twiddled nervously with the long stem of a single red rose.

There was no denying it, the infamous Jellal Fernandes –the all powerful mage who single handedly orchestrated the completion of the Tower of Heaven, infiltrated the Magic Council, capable of some of the most devastating magical spells ever known to man- was nervous about his first date.

He knew that somewhere up in heaven, Simon and Uncle Rob were probably laughing at him for being such a _teenager_. But he couldn't help it, having known and being in love with Erza for most of his life; and having been through so much with her, it seemed only right that he do everything in his power to make sure she was happy.

Of course, the dinner date was all Loki's idea. Heck, he even allowed the stellar spirit to pick out the outfits for the evening. To match Erza's white gown, the four idiots –that's what he'd call them from now on- had dressed him up in a long sleeved translucent white button down shirt with the top two buttons undone and khaki pants. In all fairness, he thought they had done a great job. But he decided they had done enough meddling when Sweets jokingly suggested that he should rent a one-man-band and serenade Erza in front of everyone to see.

He held the rose in both his hands and as the soft patter of footsteps made its way to his ears, he turned around to behold, in his eyes, the most beautiful woman on the planet.

If it was possible to glow with beauty, Erza shined with the light of a thousand suns. And just like a moth to a flame, he drew closer to her, almost in a trance like state, never taking his eyes off her. She blushed as he knelt down on one knee and handed the rose to her.

'Erza Scarlett, would you be my Valentine?'

She giggled and plucked the rose from his fingers, nodding in affirmative and up till that moment, he never realized how much he loved that sound.

Dinner went by smoothly. They dined and wined amidst playful and flirtatious conversation; and Erza shocked herself by realizing how much of a tease she could actually be.

They fed each other a pudding of chocolate mousse during dessert. It was the last mouthful, and Jellal scooped a large portion of mousse onto the spoon. She tilted her head to cup it all with her mouth but somehow or rather, a droplet escaped and some of the creamy substance trailed down from the side of her lips to her chin.

It was the most erotic thing he had seen in his life.

She immediately grabbed her napkin to wipe it off but stilled her arm. In a heartbeat, he had leaned over, and with his lips and tongue, lapped the sweet trail off her chin.

'One should never waste,' he whispered, lips lingering closely to hers.

And she captured his lips with hers, engaging him in a heated moment of passion which he gladly responded to. He pulled her from her chair and made her sit on his lap, his hand moving across her thighs as their tongues met in duel. He could still taste the chocolate in her mouth. She decided that this would be her new favorite flavor.

….

It really was a small wonder that they managed to make it back to Jellal's room without ripping each other's clothes off. He pushed her against the door, dipping his head to her neck to resume his exploration of her delicate skin. She moaned as her fingers worked to undo the buttons of his shirt. The 'ding' of the elevator in the distance alerted Erza that they were still in the corridor, in plain view to anyone who decided to walk past.

Figuring that he probably had his room key stowed somewhere in the vicinity of his pants, she ran her hands along his pockets, trying to find the telltale hardness and shape of the key. But as her hands accidently brushed against his groin, she found a hardness of a different kind. Suddenly stimulated, he bucked against her hand, pressing her palm against him, urging her on.

'Damn Jellal,' grunted Erza 'We'll be seen if you don't get this door open,'

Suddenly breathless, he pulled away from her, a distant look in his eyes. He produced the key and let them both into the room. Sweets wasn't there, and Jellal was thankful to the agent for once.

Erza smirked naughtily and kissed him once again, but this time, her hands moved southwards, undoing his belt buckle and his pants button. Before she could slide the zipper down however, he took her hands in his, pulling apart from her, stopping her movements.

'Are you sure?' he whispered 'we could wait you know, if you're not ready…,'

She met his eyes.

'I want to. I mean it,' she paused 'unless, you don't…,'

He laughed lightly and pulled her into an embrace. He kissed her temple and rested her head on his chest. Kind, affectionate, loving.

'I want to have no regrets,' she said 'Even if tomorrow brings us more death and destruction, I want tonight to be perfect at least,'

She kissed him lightly.

'Make me yours, Jellal, once and for all,' she whispered against his lips.

He stared into her eyes, looking for any traces of doubt or fear. He found none.

'I love you so much,' he said, taking her hands in his, guiding her towards the bed.

He would do it right this time. He would take care of her; he would protect her, until his dying breath.

A soft slither of cloth was heard as the beautiful white beach dress fell away from her skin. The pale moonlight cast its silvery glow into the darkened room as Jellal climbed into bed, covering her body with his. Their bodies met with a soft sigh and to her, it felt like coming home.

'I love you, Jellal,'

….

**HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! :D yess, she finally said 'I love you to him!'**

**finally done with chapter 11. I hope it met your expectations. So yes, Ultear is sleeping with White. But she hates it. She loves Zeref. I think. Well, she can bang anyone really, just as long as it isn't Jellal. He belongs to Erza only! Haha **

**I hope I portrayed Natsu and the rest believably. You know, it's actually harder to hand out lines to characters when you have so many of them in a single scene. If you're wondering why only certain characters have lines in those scenes. **

**Oh, and I did realize Wendy doesn't talk at all in this chappie. *sob* its not like I left her out on purpose though. ..**

**And yes, I was too lazy to write the lemon properly. But trust me, I will! Lol. It will most probably be up on PTR : Divergence, as for when exactly… I don't know.. **

**Hmmm, oh yea, following this commentary is a sneak peak at the next chappie. Warning though, its gonna be dark. **

**Review please! You might just save some lifeguards… ooo.. and Emillio… I wanna save him too *drools***

**By the way, does anyone know how Ultear's powers work in a combat scenario? Coz I have absolutely no idea how I'm gonna write that scene in later chappies. PM me, or review if you have any idea… Please! **

….

His shift had been over for nearly six hours, but the lifeguard still strolled along the beach, his now sneakered feet crunching the sand as he walked along. His eyes kept flicking back to the ocean, still sensing something amiss. But it was dark now, and the water beyond the shore appeared pitch black save for the silhouette of the full moon, which glowed like a spotlight up in the sky.

Something was floating out in the water. Curious, the lifeguard removed his shoes and socks and waded out until the water was knee deep to see what exactly it was that had caught his attention.

It was a float-toy. Bounced up and down by the waves, an innocent rubber ship floated just beyond his reach. Wondering which kid was unfortunate enough to have lost his favorite toy; he waded in deeper and reached into the water for the rubber boat. But as his fingers closed around the toy, a cold, slippery, clawed hand shot out of the water and grabbed his wrist.

The lifeguard screamed and fell backwards into the shallow water. Still trying with all his might to release the black hand's crushing grip on his wrist, he tugged and pulled like a maniac, scampering away, and at the same time, yelling his lungs out for help.

'Oh god, somebody! Anybody! Help!'

But the hand was unrelenting, and suddenly the rest of the creature's form surfaced from underneath the waves, a twitching, insect like head with twin antennas, a lithe, muscular body edged with clawed hands and feet. And as the lifeguard stared into the glowing, haunting yellow eyes of the creature, he suddenly believed in his mama's stories of demons, cults, and evil.

….

**Cheers!**

**Asianpearl**


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